IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


■  50     "^™ 

u. 


2.5 
Z2 

1.8 


U    III  1.6 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


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Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  tochniques  ef:  bibiiographiques 


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the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


D 


D 


D 


D 


D 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommag6e 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurde  et/ou  pellicul^e 


I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


I      I    Coloured  maps/ 


Cartes  gdographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autrb  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


I      I    Coloured  places  and/or  illustrations/ 


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Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 


□    Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serr6e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  int6rieure 


Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajout6es 
iors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
maJs,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  film^es. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppl6mentaires: 


L'lnstitut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
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de  cat  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mithode  normale  de  fiimage 
sont  indiqu6s  ci-dessous. 


r~~|   Coloured  pages/ 


D 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagdes 

Pages  restored  and/oi 

Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pellicul6es 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxei 
Pages  ddcolories,  tachetdes  ou  piqu^es 

Pages  detached/ 
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Quality  of  prir 

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I      I  Pages  damaged/ 

I      I  Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

I      I  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 

r~T|  Pages  detached/ 

r~~|  Showthrough/ 

I      I  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I      I  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

I      I  Only  edition  available/ 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
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ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuiilet  d'errata,  una  pelure, 
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obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  U\m6  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu6  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  '  22X 


26X 


30X 


J___ 

y 

12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


The  copy  filmed  hare  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

University  of  British  Columbia  Library 


L'exempiaire  fiimA  fut  reproduit  grAce  A  la 
gAnirositA  de: 

University  of  British  Columbia  Library 


The  images  appaari^ig  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  6tA  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettetA  de  rexemplaire  fiimA,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papitir  est  Imprimis  sont  fllmte  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  at  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmis  en  commenpant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  derniire  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  •^^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  ▼  (meaning  "END"). 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
derniire  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE ',  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
filmAs  A  des  taux  de  reduction  diff Arents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seui  clichA,  il  est  filmA  A  partir 
da  ('angle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droits, 
et  de  haut  an  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

ATLANTIS   ARISEN; 


OK, 


TALKS   OF  A  TOURIST 


AnOL'T 


OREGON  AND  WASHINGTON 


HY 


M1<S.  FRANCES    FULLER   VICTOR. 


ILLUSTKATEL). 


P  H  1  L  A  D  F.  L  P  H  I  A  : 


J.    B.    LIPPINCOTT    COMPANY. 
1891. 


Copyright,  1891,  by  Frances  Fuller  Victor. 


Printed  bv  J.  B.  Lippincott  Company,  Phiiaoelphia. 


PREFACE. 


Whoevkr  reads  my  book  will  discovei'  that  the  author  is  no 
hasty  observer.  In  fact,  I  have  been  up  and  down  the  coast 
a  good  deal,  and  have  studied  it  from  many  points  of  view 
from  Mexico  to  British  Columbia.  1  have,  during  different 
periods  of  residence  in  the  East,  had  occasion  to  notice  and 
to  regret  the  want  of  knowledge  of  this  northwest  corner  of 
the  United  States,  and  some  years  ago  publislied  "All  over 
Oregon  and  Washington,"  which  is  now  not  only  out  of  print, 
but  out  of  date,  owing  to  the  immense  strides  in  improvement 
made  by  these  two  commonwealths  since  the  era  of  raih'oads. 

It  was  frequently  suggested  to  me  to  revise  and  republish 
that  book,  but  upon  devoting  a  summer  of  travel  to  the  acquisi- 
tion of  new  facts,  I  found  that  practically  a  new  book  would 
have  to  be  written.  This  is  here  presented.  If  readers  of 
the  former  detect  some  familiar  passages,  they  are  those  I 
found  necessary  to  preserve,  because  I  did  not  see  how  they 
could  be  omitted  without  injustice  to  my  subject.  To  the 
majority  I  have  little  doubt  that  the  whole  will  be  what  I  have 
meant  it  to  be, — instructive. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    f. 

PAGE 

A  Talk  arout  Discovery H 

CHAPTEK   II. 
A  Synopsis  of  EARiiV  History •     17 

CHAPTER   III. 
About  the  Mouth  of  the  CoijT;mbta 80 

CHAPTER    IV. 
A  Talk  about  Astoria  and  Vicinity 35 

CHAPTER    V. 
Notes  on  the  Columbia  River 47 

CHAPTER    VI. 
SoMK  Gkxkral  Talk  about  Climate 72 

CHAPTER  VII. 
A  Talk  about  the  Wallamet  and  its  Chief  Town  ...     83 

CHAPTER   VIII. 
Other  Towns  op  the  W\llamet  Valley 102 

CHAPTER    IX. 

Further  Remarks  on  West  Oregon 112 

CHAPTER   X. 

What  I  saw  in  Southern  Oregon 124 

6 


■■■■■ 


^  fONTENI'S. 

CHAPTER    XL 

FAnlt 

About  Orkoon's  Inland  Emfibk ^'^ 

CHAPTER    XII. 
A  Chat  about  Obeoon  Mountains 1^ 

CHAPTER   XIII. 
Geolooicaj.  Formation  of  Obeoon  and  VVa81iinot(.n     .  .  184 

CHAPTER    XIV. 
What  I  i.eabned  about  the  Minebal;)(»y  ok  Oreqcn  .  .  193 

CHAPTER    XV. 
A  Glimpse  op  the  Mines  of  East  Obeuon 203 

CHAPTER    XVT. 
A  Talk  about  the  Forests  of  the  Nobthwest 211 

CHAPTER    XVIT. 
About  the  Botany  of  the  Nobthwest --1 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 
Something  about  Game  and  Wild  Sports 228 

CHAPTER    XIX. 
Fbom  Portland  to  Olympia 236 

CHAPTER    XX. 
From  Olympia  to  Gray's  Harbor .247 

CHAPTER   XXI. 

Olympic  Gossip     ^^^ 

CHAPTER    XXII. 
Shoalwater  Bay  or  Willapa  Harbob 273 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

The  City  op  Destiny 278 


CONTKNT8.  ♦ 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 
Thk  QiJKBN  City  and  its  Dephndencies 303 

f 

CHAPTER    XXV. 
About  the  Key  City  and  Vicinity 828 

CHAPTER   XXVI. 
The  San  Juan  Archipelago  and  City  op  the  Sea    ...  329 

CHAPTER   XXVII. 
Fairhaven  and  Bellinqham  Bay 339 

CHAPTER   XXVITI. 
Glimpses  of  the  Inland  Empire 346 

CHAPTER   XXIX. 
What  about  Spokane? ^ 

CHAPTER   XXX. 
About  Geolooy  and  Mineralogy  in  Washinoton   ....  884 

CHAPTER    XXXI. 

410 

Last  Words **" 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


I'AIIK 


-.11                                                                         ....  Fruiifispierr. 
CAHTI.K   ItiMK ' 

ViKW  OK  Astoria,     ^okino  Seawakd ^'^  ■ 

Railroad  Inclink  ai  tiik  Cascades 

m 

PoKTT-ANI)      .     .  

.     .     ■     •      1'*' 
COIINKLI.    Ko/  '. 

POI.K    Col'NTY    HlI,LS « 

128 

OrKOON    (   ITY 

180 

KOSKHUBO       

...    189 
Ashlanu 

WllKRK    RaII-UOADS    (Jo 

164 

Sn'AKK   RlVKK 

On  the  Summit  of  St.  Helen 

,,       T  •  174 

Cloud-Cai>  Inn " 

(iRAY's  Harbor,  from  Hoqbiam 

281 
Mai'  of  Tacoma 

288 
Where  Ships  are  Lo.vdku 

Northern  Pacific  Railroad  Yards,  Tacoma 5J86 

Opera-IIouse  Corner,  C  Street,  Tvcoma 292 

•Jug 

Old  Tacoma's  Bell-Iower     - 

303 
Seattle  Water-Front 

Map  of  Seattle  and  Harbor 

323 

In  the  Straits 

829 

Among  the  Islands 

.    .    868 

A  Suburb  of  Spokane  

887 

Middle  Channel,  Post  Falls 

871 
Lake  Pknd  d'Oreille 

„         ,,  876 

Fort  Sherman •    •    ■ 

382 
Clarke's  lov-rv  of  the  Columbia 

One  Day's  Hunt ".■■■'■' 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN; 

OR,  •     ■   • 

TALKS   OF  A  TOURIST  ABOUT  OREGON 
AND   WASHINGTON. 


CHAPTEE    I. 


A   TALK   ABOUT   DISCOVERY. 


From  the  year  1513,  when  Balboa  discovered  the  Pacific 
Ocean  at  Panama,  the  navigators  of  Spain,  and  of  ev^ery  r'vul 
naval  power  whicli  arose  for  the  following  two  hundred  and 
seventy-nine  years,  were  searching  for  some  strait,  or  river, 
which  would  furnish  water  communication  between  the  two 
great  oceans  that  border  the  American  continent.  The  Strait 
of  Magellan,  discovered  soon  after  the  Pacific,  afforded  a  ^vay 
by  which  vessels  could  enter  this  ocean  from  the  western  side 
of  the  Atlantic ;  but  it  was  far  to  the  south,  crooked  and  dan- 
gerous. After  the  discovery  by  the  English  buccaneer,  Drake, 
of  the  passage  around  Cape  Horn,  the  search  was  continued 
with  redoubled  interest.  Not  only  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese 
entered  into  it,  but  the  Engli-sh,  who  had  found  the  great  in- 
land sea  of  Hudson's  Bay  penetrating  the  continent  towards  the 
west,  endeavored,  by  offering  prizes,  to  stimulate  the  zeal  of 
navigators  in  looking  for  the  Northwest  Passage. 

A  rumor  continued  to  circulate  through  the  world,  vague, 
mystical,  and  romantic,  of  half  discoveries  by  one  and  another 
power;  and  tales,  wilder  than  anything  but  pure  fiction,  were 
soberly  listened  to  by  crowned  heads, — all  of  which  went  to 
confirm  the  belief  in  the  hoped-for  straits,  which  one  pretender 
to  discovery  even  went  so  far  as  to  name,  and  give  latitude  and 
longitude.  The  Straits  of  Anian  he  called  them;  and  so,  all 
the  world  was  looking  for  Fretum  Anian. 

11 


/ 


12 


ATI.AVTIS   ARISEN. 


|!|< 


M 


All  this  agitation  could  not  go  for  nothing.  By  dint  of  sail- 
ing up  and  down  the  west  coast  of  the  continent  some  iictiial 
discoveries  of  importance  were  made,  and  other  hints  of  things 
not  yet  discovered  were  receiv;^d.  There  even  appeared  upon 
the  Spanish  charts  the  name  of  a  river  somewhere  between 
the  fortieth  and  fiftieth  parallels, — the  San  Eoque, — supposed 
to  be  a  large  stream,  possibly  the  long-sought  channel  of  com- 
munication with  the  Atlantic;  but  no  account  of  having  entered 
it  was  ever  given.  Then  vague  mention  began  to  be  made  of 
the  "Eivor  of  the  West,"  whose  latitude  and  longitude  nobody 
knew. 

Just  before  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  a  colonial  captain, 
one  Jonathan  Carver,  being  inspired  with  a  desire  to  know  more 
of  the  interior  of  the  continent,  travelled  as  far  west  as  the 
head-water.s  of  the  Mississippi.  While  on  this  tour,  he  heard, 
from  the  Indians  with  whom  he  conversed,  some  mention  of 
other  Indians  to  the  west,  who  told  tales  of  a  range  of  moun- 
tains called  Stony  Mountains,  and  of  a  great  river  rising  in  them, 
and  flowing  westward  to  the  sea,  which  they  callled  Oregon,  or 
Origan. 

After  the  War  of  the  Eevolution,  Great  Britain  resumed  her 
voyages  of  discovery.  A  fleet  was  fitted  out  to  survey  the 
northwest  coast  of  America,  which  it  was  thought  might  be 
claimed  by  her  on  account  of  the  voyage  to  it  by  Captain  Cook, 
some  years  previous.  The  surveys  conducted  by  Captain  Van- 
couver were  elaborate  and  scientific.  He,  too,  like  those  who 
had  gone  before  him,  was  looking  for  the  "  River  of  the  West," 
or  the  Northwest  Passage. 

But  that  obtuseness  of  perception  which  sometimes  over- 
takes the  most  sharp-sighted  overtook  Captain  Vancouver 
when  his  vessel  passed  the  legendary  river;  for  it  was  broad 
daylight  and  clear  weather,  so  that  he  saw  the  headlands,  and 
still  ho  declared  that  there  was  no  river  there. — only  a  sort  of 
bay. 

Fortunately,  a  sharper  eye  than  hia  had  scanned  the  same 
opening  not  long  before :  the  eye  of  one  of  that  proverbially 
sharp  nation,  the  Yankee.  Captain  Robert  Gray,  sailing  a 
vessel  in  the  employ  of  a  firm  of  Boston  traders,  in  taking  a 
1  )ok  at  the  inlet,  and  noticing  the  color  of  the  water,  did  think 


A  TALK  ABOUT  DISCOVERY. 


u 


thera  was  a  rivor  there,  and  so  told  the  English  captain  when 
his  vesizel  was  spoken.  Finding  that  his  impressions  were 
treated  with  superior  scapticism,  the  Yankee  captain  turned 
back  to  talie  another  look.  This  second  observation  was  con- 
clusive.    He  sailed  in  on  the  11th  of  May,  1792. 

From  the  log-book  of  the  "  Columbia,"  Captain  Gray's  ship,  we 
take  the  following  extracts:  At  four  o'clock,  on  the  morning  of 
the  11th,  "'beheld  our  desired  port,  bearing  oast-southeast,  dis- 
tant six  leagues.  At  eight  a.m.,  being  a  little  to  the  windward 
of  the  entrance  jf  the  harbor,  bore  away,  and  run  in  east- north- 
east, between  i  he  breakers,  having  from  five  to  seven  fathoms 
of  water.  When  we  were  over  the  bar,  we  ibund  this  to  be  a 
large  river  of  fresh  water,  up  whicli  wo  steered.  Many  canoes 
came  alongside.  Atone  p.m.  came  to,  with  the  small  bower,  in 
ten  fathoms;  black  and  white  sand.  The  entrance  between  the 
bars  bore  west-southwest,  distant  ten  miles ;  the  north  side  of 
the  river,  distant  a  half  mile  fi-om  the  shij) ;  the  south  side  of 
the  same,  two  and  a  half  miles  distant;  a  village  on  the  noith 
side  of  the  liver,  west  by  north,  distant  three-quarters  of  a 
mile.  Vast  numbers  of  the  natives  came  alongside :  people  em- 
ployed pumping  the  salt  water  out  of  our  water-casks,  in  order 
to  fill  with  fresh,  while  the  ship  floated  in.     So  ends." 

No,  not  so  ends,  0  modest  Captain  Gray,  of  the  ship  "  Columbia !" 
The  end  is  not  yet,  nor  will  bo  until  all  the  vast  territory,  rich 
with  every  production  of  the  earth,  which  is  drained  by  the 
waters  of  the  new-found  river  shall  have  yielded  up  its  inimit- 
able wealth  to  distant  generations. 

The  "  Columbia's"  log-book  certainly  does  n((t  betray  any  great 
elation  of  mind  in  her  oflScers  on  reaching  the  "desired  port." 
Everything  is  recorded  calmly  and  simply, — quite  in  the  way 
of  business.  Only  from  chance  expressions,  and  the  determina- 
tion to  make  tlie  ''  desired  port,"  does  it  appear  that  Gray's 
lieart  was  set  on  discovering  the  San  Eoque  of  the  Spanish 
navigators, — the  "Kiverof  the  West"  of  the  rest  of  mankind. 
No  explorer  he,  talking  grandly  of  '•  minute  inspections''  and  of 
"unalterable  opinions  1"  Only  an  adventurous  and,  withal,  a 
prudent  trader,  looking  out  for  the  main  chance,  and,  perhaps, 
emulous  of  a  little  glory. 

No  doubt  his  stout  heart  quaked  a  little  with  excitement  as 


14 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


Il   I 


he  ran  in  for  the  "  opening."  We  could  pardon  him  if  it  shrank 
somewhat  at  sight  of  the  hungry  breakers;  but  it  must  have 
been  a  poor  and  pulseless  affair  of  a  heart  that  did  not  give  a 
throb  of  exultation  as  his  good  ship,  dashing  the  foam  from  her 
prow,  sailed  between  the  white  lines  of  surf  safely — through 
the  proper  channel,  thank  God  I — out  upon  the  broad  bosora  of 
the  most  magnificent  of  rivers. 

We  trust  the  morning  was  fine,  and  that  Captain  Gray  had  a 
perfect  view  of  the  noble  scenery  surrounding  him  :  of  a  golden 
sunrise  from  a  horizon  fretted  by  the  peaks  of  lofty  hills,  bear- 
ing thick  unbroken  forests  of  giant  trees;  of  low  shores  em- 
bowered in  flowering  shrubbery;  of  numerous  mountain  spurs 
putting  out  into  the  wide  bay,  extending  miles  east  and  west, 
and  north  and  south,  forming  numerous  other  bays  and  coves, 
where  boats  might  lie  in  safety  from  any  storm  outside ;  of  oihor 
streams  dividing  the  mountains  into  ridges,  and  pouring  their 
tributary  wateis  into  the  great  river,  through  narrow  gaps  that 
half  revealed  and  half  concealed  the  fertile  valleys  nestled  away 
from  inquisitive  eyes;  and  that,  as  he  ti'ied  in  vuiii  to  look  be- 
yond the  dark  ridge  of  Tongue  Point,  around  whose  foot  flowed 
the  broad,  deep  current  whose  origin  was  still  a  mystery,  he 
realized  by  a  prophetic  sense  the  importance  of  that  morning's 
transaction.  No  other  reward  had  he  in  his  lifetime,  and  we 
trust  he  had  that. 

From  the  ship's  log-book,  we  learn  that  he  did  not  leave  the 
river  for  ten  days,  during  which  time  the  men  were  employed 
calking  the  pinnace,  paying  the  ship's  side  with  ta.,  j.ainting 
the  same,  and  doing  such  carpenter- work  as  was  needed  to  put 
the  vepsel  in  repair  after  her  long  voyage  out  from  Boston.  All 
this  time  "vast  numbers"  of  native^^  were  alongside  continually, 
and  the  captain  must  have  driven  a  thriving  trade  in  furs, 
salmon,  and  the  like.  On  the  14ih  he  sailed  up  the  river  about 
fifteen  miles,  getting  aground  just  above  Tongue  Point,  where 
he  mistook  the  channel  among  the  many  islands ;  but  the  ship 
'•  coming  off  without  any  assistance,"  he  dropped  down  to  a 
better  anchoring-plaoe. 

On  the  15th,  in  the  afternoon.  Captain  Gray  and  Mr.  Hos- 
kins,  the  first  oflScer,  "  went  on  shore  in  the  jolly-boat,  to  take 
a  short  view  of  the  country."     On  the  16th  the  ship  returned 


A   TALK   ABOUT   DISCOVERY. 


16 


to  hor  first  position  off  the  Chinook  village,  and  was  again  sur- 
rounded by  the  canooa  of  that  people.  The  Chinook  village 
i-emains  to-day,  but  its  people  are  no  longer  numerous. 

Captain  Gray  was  thinking  of  getting  to  sea  again  by  the 
18th ;  but  on  standing  down  the  river  towards  the  bar,  the  wind 
came  light  and  fluttering,  and  again  the  anchor  was  dropped. 
Ho  must  now  decide  upon  a  name  for  this  great  stream,  which 
from  its  volume  ho  knew  must  come  from  the  heart  of  the  con- 
tinent. The  log  of  the  19th  says,  "Fresh  and  clear  weather. 
Early  a  number  of  canoes  came  alongside  :  seamen  and  trades- 
men employed  in  their  various  departments.  Captain  Gray 
gave  the  river  the  name  of  Columbia's  Eiver;  and  the  north 
side  of  the  entrance,  Cape  Hancock ;  that  on  the  south  side, 
Point  Adams." 

On  the  20th  of  May  the  ship  lifted  anchor,  made  sail,  and 
stood  down  the  river,  coining,  as  the  following  extract  will  show, 
near  being  wrecked:  "At  two  the  wind  left  us,  we  being  on  the 
bar  with  a  very  strong  tide,  which  set  on  the  breakers.  It  was 
now  not  possible  to  got  out  without  a  bi'eeze  to  shoot  her  across 
the  tide;  so  we  were  obliged  to  bring  up  in  three  and  a  half 
fathoms,  the  tide  running  five  knots.  At  three-quarters  past 
two  a  fresh  wind  came  in  from  seaward  ;  we  immediately  came 
to  sail  and  beat  over  the  bar,. having  from  five  to  seven  fathoms 
water  in  the  channel.  At  five  p.m.  we  were  out,  clear  of  all 
the  bara,  and  in  twenty  fathoms  water." 

Captain  Gray  proceeded  from  Columbia's  Eiver  to  Nootka 
Sound,  a  favorite  harbor  for  trading  vessels,  but  in  dispute  at 
that  time  between  Spain  and  Groat  Britain.  Here  he  reported 
his  discovery  to  the  Spanish  comandante.  Quadra,  and  gave  him 
a  copy  of  his  charts.  In  the  controversy  which  afterwards 
happened  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  con- 
cerning the  title  to  the  Oregon  territory,  the  value  of  this 
precaution  became  apparent:  for  in  that  controversy  the 
comandante's  evidence  destroyed  the  pretensions  of  Vancou- 
ver's lieutenant,  Broughton,  who,  on  having  heai'd  of  Gray's 
discovery,  returned  to  the  Columbia  River,  and  made  a  survey 
of  it  up  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Wallamet,  founding  upon 
this  survey  the  claim  of  Great  Britain  to  a  discoveryrtitle.  The 
subterfuge  was  resorted  to  of  denying  that  the  Columbia  was 


16 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


a  river  below  Tongue  Point:  it  was  claimed  that  it  was  an 
iulet  or  sound.  Were  it  not  a  fact  patent  to  every  one  that  a 
river  must  extend  as  far  as  the  force  of  its  current  is  felt,  the 
pretence  would  still  be  perfectly  transparent,  since  Gray  must 
have  passed  Tongue  Point,  and  been  in  what  Broughton  claimed 
to  bo  the  actual  river  before  he  grounded.  Years  afterwards, 
the  log-book  of  the  obscure  Yankee  trader,  and  the  evidence  of 
Comandante  Quadra,  overbore  all  strained  pretences,  and  mani- 
fest destiny  made  Oregon  and  its  great  river  a  portion  of  the 
American  republic. 

Captain  Bobert  Gray  was  the  first  man  to  carry  the  flag  of 
the  United  States  around  the  world,  having,  in  the  spring  of 
1792,  just  returned  from  a  voyage  from  Nootka  to  Canton,  and 
from  Canton  to  Boston,  by  vvay  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
He  continued  to  command  a  trading  vessel  up  to  the  time  of 
his  death,  in  1809.  Gray's  Harbor,  on  the  coast  of  Washington 
Territory,  was  discovered  and  named  by  him,  the  name  remain- 
ing as  a  memorial.     Ought  he  not  to  have  some  other? 

In  October,  1792,  Vancouver  having  finished  the  survey  of 
Puget  Sound,  in  which  the  Spanish  fleet  was  also  engaged, 
Broughton  was  despatched  to  the  Columbia  River  with  the 
"  Chatham,"  which  grounded  just  inside  Cape  Hancock ;  was  got 
off'  and  anchored  in  a  small  bay  on  the  north  side  of  the  river, 
known  as  Baker's  Bay.  In  this  cove  he  found,  to  his  surprise, 
another  vessel,  the  brig  "J- any,"  from  Bristol,  England,  com- 
manded by  Captain  Baker,  from  whom  he  had  parted  in  Nootka 
Sound.  The  cove  was  thence  named  Bakex-'s  Bay.  From  this 
time  the  Columbia  continued  to  be  visited  by  trading  vessels 
up  to  the  war  of  1812,  which  interrupted  this  sort  of  traffic  for 
the  time. 


A   SYNOPSIS  OF   EARL^    HISTORY, 


If 


CHAPTER    II. 


A   SYNOPSIS   OF    EARLY    niSTOIlY. 

In  the  commonceinent  of  the  present  century,  when  we  paid 
for  our  teas  and  silks  with  sealskins,  cocoanut  oil,  and  sandal- 
wood, not  to  mention  turtle  and  abalone  shells,  the  United 
States  were  bounded  by  the  British  provinces  on  the  north,  by 
the  Spanish  possessions,  called  Florida,  on  the  south,  and  by 
the  French  possessions,  called  Louisiana,  on  the  west.  Our  sea- 
coast  extended  only  from  the  northern  boundary  of  Maine  to 
the  southern  boundary  of  Georgia;  and  the  Mississippi  River 
represented  our  western  water-front,  although  the  settlements 
in  that  part  of  our  territory  were  chiefly  French.  Beyond  the 
Mississippi  was  an  expanse  of  country  whose  extent  was  un- 
dreamed of,  as  its  geographical  configuration  was  unknown. 
The  explorations  of  the  British  fur  companies  in  the  north 
had  revealed  the  existence  of  high  mountains  and  great  rivers 
in  that  direction  ;  while  the  little  knowledge  obtained  of  the 
sources  of  the  Missouri,  the  Columbia,  and  the  Colorado,  together 
with  the  immense  volumes  of  those  rivers,  at  so  great  an  appar- 
ent distance  from  their  springs,  was  sufl3cient  to  stimulate  public 
inquiry  and  scientific  research.  How  long  such  inquiry  would 
have  been  deferred,  but  for  a  fortunate  turn  in  the  public  affairs 
of  the  United  States,  can  only  be  conjectured. 

Our  young  republic  had  barely  established  her  independence, 
and  shaken  off  the  lingering  grasp  of  Great  Britain  from  the 
forts  and  towns  bordering  on  the  Great  Lakes, — had  only  just 
begun  to  feel  the  young  giant's  blood  in  her  veins,  and  to  trust 
her  own  strength  when  measured  with  that  of  an  older  and 
adroit  foe, — when  the  nineteenth  century  dawned,  in  which  so 
much  has  already  been  accomplished,  though  its  ninth  decade 
is  but  just  completed. 

The  first  event  of  importance  marking  this  period,  and  bear- 
ing upon  the  history  of  Oregon,  was  the  purchase  from  France 
of  the  Louisiana  territory.    This  was  a  vast  area  of  country, 

2 


^ 


n 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


drained  by  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  and  originally  settled 
by  the  French  from  Canada,  especially  in  its  more  northern 
parts.  Notwithstanding  the  Spaniards  had  discovered  the 
Lower  Missisnippi,  and  claimed  a  great  extent  of  country  under 
the  general  name  of  Florida,  King  Louis  XIV.  of  France,  in 
consideration  of  the  fact  that  the  region  of  the  Mississippi  re- 
mained unoccupied  by  Spain,  while  it  was  gradually  being  settled 
by  his  own  people,  thought  proper  to  grant  to  Antoine  Crozat, 
in  1712,  the  exclusive  trade  of  the  whole  of  Southern  Louisiana, 
the  country  included  in  this  j^rant  extending  "from  the  sea- 
shore to  the  Illinois,  together  with  the  Rivers  St.  Philip  (the 
Missouri)  and  the  St.  Jerome  (the  Ohio),  with  all  the  couiitries, 
territories,  lakes  in  the  land,  and  rivers  emptying  directly  or 
indirectly  into  that  part  of  the  Hiver  St.  Louis"  (the  Missis- 
sippi). Spain  not  being  able  to  offer  any  successful  opposition 
to  this  extensive  land-grant  of  territories  to  which  she  laid 
claim  by  the  right  of  discovery,  Crozat  remained  in  possession 
of  Louisiana,  under  the  general  government  of  New  France, 
until  1717,  when,  not  finding  the  principality  such  a  mine  of 
wealth  as  he  expected  it  to  be,  and  having  suffered  a  great  pri- 
vate grief  which  took  away  the  love  of  power,  he  relinquished 
his  title,  and  Louisiana  reverted  to  the  crowji.  The  Illinois 
country  was  afterward  added  to  the  original  Louisiana  territory, 
and  the  whole  once  more  granted  to  Law's  Mississippi  Company, 
whicii  company  held  it  until  1732,  when  the  bubble  of  specula- 
tion being  hopelessly  flattened,  Louisiana  once  more  re^'crted  to 
the  French  crown,  and  remained  a  Frencn  pi'ovince  urtil  1769. 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  certain  negotiation^  were  being 
carried  forward  which  were  to  decide  the  future  boundaries  of 
the  United  States.  In  1762,  on  the  3d  of  November,  a  con- 
vention was  held  at  Paris,  to  settle  the  preliminaries  of  peace 
between  France  and  Spain  on  the  one  part,  and  England  and 
Portugal  on  the  other,  in  which  convention  it  was  agreed  that 
France  should  cede  to  Spain  "  all  the  country  known  under  the 
name  of  Louisiana,  as  also  New  Orleans  and  the  island  on  which 
that  city  is  situated."  On  the  23d  of  the  same  month  this 
cession  was  formally  concluded,  giving  to  Spain,  with  the  con- 
sent of  Great  Britain  and  Portugal,  all  the  country  drained  by 
the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries,  except  a  small  portion  north 


A    SYNOPSIS  OF    EAKLY    HI8T0BY. 


19 


of  tho  Illinois  country,  which  was  never  mentioned  in  the 
boundaries  of  Louisiana. 

In  less  than  three  months  after  tho  cession  of  Louisiana  to 
Spain  a  treaty  was  concluded  in  Paris  between  the  same  high 
contracting  parties,  by  which  Great  Britain  obtained  from 
Prance  Canada,  and  from  Spain  Florida,  and  that  portion  of 
Louisiana  cast  of  a  line  drawn  along  the  middle  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, "  from  its  source  to  the  River  Iberville,  ,nd  thence  along 
the  middle  of  the  Iberville,  and  the  Lakes  Maurepas  and  Pont- 
chartrain,  to  the  sea." 

This  treaty  defined  the  limits  of  the  territories  be*longing  to 
Great  Britain,  and  set  aside  any  former  grants  of  English 
kings,  made  when  the  extent  of  the  continent  was  not  oven 
surmised.  Thus,  at  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  when 
the  United  States  became  heirs  of  all  the  British  possessions 
south  of  Canada,  thoir  ostern  boundary,  as  before  mentioned, 
was  the  Mississippi,  as  far  south  as  the  River  Iberville  and 
Lake  Pontchartrain, — New  Orleans  and  the  mouths  of  the 
Mississippi  belonging  to  Spain. 

Florida,  during  the  time  it  was  in  the  hands  of  Great  Britain, 
had  been  divided  into  two  provinces,  separated  by  the  Appa- 
lachicola  River,  and  settled  chiefly  by  emigrants  from  the  south 
of  Europe,  to  whose  numbers,  also,  a  few  Carolinians  were 
added.  This  colony  of  foreigners  was  used,  in  connection  with 
the  savage  natives  of  Florida,  with  great  effect  against  the 
southern  colonies  during  the  War  of  Independence.  However, 
while  they  were  directing  their  energies  against  Georgia,  the 
Spaniards  of  Louisiana  seized  the  opportunity  for  making  in- 
cursions into  these  nondescript  British  provinces,  and  captured 
their  chief  towns,  thereby  rendering  them  worthless  to  Great 
Britain ;  and  in  1783  Florida  was  retroceded  to  Spain,  in  whose 
hands  it  was  in  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  then 
forming  the  southern  boundary  of  the  United  States. 

In  all  these  transactions  the  limits  of  neither  Florida  nor 
Louisiana  had  ever  been  distinctly  defined;  the  southern  bound- 
aries of  the  latter  infringing  upon  the  western  boundaries  of 
the  former  territory.  In  1800,  when  Spain  retroceded  Louisiana 
to  France,  it  was  described  in  the  treaty  as  being  the  "  same  in 
extent  that  it  now  is  in  the  hands  of  Spain,  and  that  it  had  been 


20 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


when  France  possessed  it" — that  is,  embi-acing  the  whole  torri- 
torj'  drained  by  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaricH,  "directly  or 
indirectly." 

In  1803,  April  30,  this  vast  extent  of  country  was  ceded  to 
the  United  States  by  France,  "with  all  its  rights  and  appur- 
tenances, as  fully,  and  in  the  same  manner,  as  they  had  been 
acquired  by  the  French  republic,"  by  the  retrocession  of  Spain. 
By  this  transfer  on  the  part  of  France  the  Spanish  government 
seemed  at  first  disposed  to  be  offended,  and  to  offer  obstacles  to 
the  settlement  of  the  Americans  in  their  newly-acquired  terri- 
tory. Doubtless,  this  feeling  arose  from  the  unsettled  condition 
of  the  boundary  questions,  and  a  fear  that  the  United  States 
would,  as  they  did,  demand  the  surrender  of  the  whole  of  the 
original  territciy  of  Louisiana,  called  for  by  the  treaty.  Spain 
then  undertook  to  prove  that  the  pretensions  of  France  to  any 
territories  west  of  the  Mississippi  could  not  be  supported,  and 
that  the  French  settlements  were  only  tolerated  by  Spain  for 
the  sake  of  peace.  Such  a  discrepancy  between  the  views  of 
the  two  nations  forbade  negotiation  at  that  time,  and  the  matter 
rested,  not  to  be  revived  until  1817.  In  the  mean  time,  however, 
the  United  States,  in  1811,  feeling  the  necessity  of  holding  the 
principal  posts  in  the  disputed  territorj'  against  all  other  powers, 
took  possession  of  the  country  west  of  the  Perdido  River,  which 
was  understood  to  be  the  western  limit  of  Florida.  But  a  British 
expedition  having  fitted  out  from  Pensacola  during  the  second 
war  with  Great  Britain,  the  United  States  sent  General  Jackson 
to  capture  it,  which  he  did  in  1814,  and  again  in  1818,  as  also 
the  Fort  of  St.  Mark.  These  repeated  demonstrations  of  the 
spirit  of  the  United  States  led  to  further  and  more  sticcessfid 
negotiations  with  Spain,  which  power  finally  ceded  to  the 
American  government  the  whole  of  the  territory  claimed  to 
belong  to  Florida,  February  22,  1819,  the  boundaries  being 
settled  as  follows : 

"Article  3.  The  boundary-line  between  the  two  countries 
west  of  the  Mississippi  shall  begin  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  River  Sabine,  in  the  sea,  continuing  north, 
along  the  western  bank  of  that  river,  to  the  23d  degree  of  lati- 
tude; thence,  by  a  line  due  north,  to  the  degree  of  latitude 
where  it  strikes  the  Rio  Roxo  of  Natchitoches,  or  Red  River ; 


A    SYNOPSIS   OF   EARI.Y   HISTORY. 


fil 


then,  following  the  course  of  the  Rio  Roxo  westward,  to  the 
degree  of  longitude  100  west  from  London  and  23  from  Wash- 
ington; then,  crossing  said  Red  River,  and  running  thcnco,  by  a 
lino  due  north,  to  the  River  Arkansas;  thence,  following  the 
course  of  the  southern  bank  of  the  Arkansas,  to  its  source  in 
latitude  42  north  ;  and  thence,  by  that  parallel  of  latitude,  to 
the  South  Sea." 

Other  particulars  are  added  in  the  article  quoted,  the  meaning 
of  which  is  the  same  as  the  foregoing:  intended  to  fix  the 
western  boundary  of  the  TTnited  States,  as  regarded  the  Spanish 
possessions,  and  the  eastern  and  northern  boundaries  of  the 
Spanish  possessions,  as  regarded  the  United  States. 

Spain  had  never  withdrawn  her  pretensions  to  the  northwest 
coast;  but,  being  unable  to  colonize  this  distant  territory,  and 
still  less  able  to  hold  it  by  garrisons  in  forts,  she  tacitly  relin- 
quished her  claim  to  the  United  States,  by  making  the  forty- 
second  parallel  the  northern  limit  of  her  possesnions  on  the 
Pacific.  The  United  States  were  then  at  libert}*  to  take  posses- 
sion of  that  which  Spain  relinquished  in  their  favor;  in  fact, 
had  the  same  right  to  this  remote  territoiy  that  they  had  to  the 
Florida  and  Louisiana  territories,  which  were  obtained  by  treaty 
from  nations  claiming  them  by  the  right  of  discovery. 

But  the  claims  of  the  XTnited  States  to  the  so-called  Oregon 
territory  had  even  better  foundations  than  this,  if  it  be  con- 
sidered that  Spain  had  actually  abandoned  her  possessions  in 
the  northwest;  for,  in  that  case,  the  Oregon  territory  was  theirs 
by  the  right  of  discovery  and  actual  occupation,  as  well  as  by 
contiguity,  by  treaty,  etc.  At  the  time  that  Gray  discovered 
and  named  Columbia's  River,  important  as  the  discoveiy  was, 
it  awakened  but  little  thought  in  the  American  mind;  because, 
as  yet,  we  had  not  acquired  Louisiana,  stretching  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  nor  even  secured  the  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
which  was  much  more  of  an  object,  at  that  time,  than  the  coast 
of  the  Pacific.  However,  when  Louisiana  became  ours,  the 
national  mind  awoke  to  the  splendid  possibilities  of  the  nation's 
future.  It  was  not  for  naught  that  a  company  of  Boston 
merchants  had  opened  a  trade  between  China  and  the  north- 
west coast;  albeit,  their  captains  gathered  up  trinkets  of  all 
sorts  to  add  to  their  stock  in  trade,  should  furs  fiill  short  of  the 


39 


ATLANTIS   AUIHEN. 


imirkot.  Not  in  vuin  htul  tho  prying  Boston  ttudorM  jieoroii  into 
nil  inlotM,  bays,  and  rivers  ■>n  tho  northwest  coast.  When  it 
came  to  discovery-rif^hts,  they  had  more  claims  than  any 
pe()l)lo,  tho  original  discoverers  excepted;  and  when  Captain 
Vancouver's  journal  was  published,  it  only  convinced  them  that 
they  should  be  fools  not  to  ])roflt  by  what  it  was  so  evidently 
fair  thoy  should  |)rotit  by,  though  they  did  not  quite  see  tho 
way  clear  to  tho  occupancy  of  the  country  which  Columbia's 
Biver  was  bolievod  to  drain,  nor  of  the  islands  and  bays  which 
thoir  trading  ships  had  ex))lored.  If  Spain  chose  to  hold  posses- 
sion of  these  coasts,  they  would  not  interfere;  but  if  Great 
Britain  attempted  to  override  both  Spain  and  America,  in  laying 
claim  to  the  Pacific  side  of  the  continent,  something  might  be 
done  by  way  of  i)reventing  this  attempt. 

Such  must  have  been  the  thought,  half  indulged,  half  repressed, 
in  tho  A.morican  mind  previous  to  tho  acquisition  of  tho  groat 
Louisiana  territory.  Afier  that  acquisition  it  became  more  de- 
cided. Tho  fact  that  Gray  had  discovered  tho  great  rivor  of 
tho  west,  which  for  a  century  had  been  sought  after,  tho  in- 
creasing evidences  of  tho  incapacity  of  Spain  to  hold  this  far- 
off  coast  against  intruders,  tho  fooling  that  Groat  Britain  had 
no  right  to  tho  countries  she  had  so  pompously  taken  posses- 
sion of  in  the  face  of  thoir  actual  discoverers, — all  those  reasons, 
joined  to  the  probable  fact  that  tho  Louisiana  territory  bordered 
upon  that  drained  by  the  groat  western  rivor,  which  an  Ameri- 
can was  first  to  onior  and  explore,  at  length  shaped  the  policy 
of  a  few  loading  minds  among  American  statesmen. 

It  was  even  contended  by  some  that,  as  the  western  boundary 
of  Louisiana  had  never  been  fixed,  and,  indeed,  was  entirely 
unknown, — since  tho  Missouri  and  its  tributaries  had  never 
been  explored,-  the  limits  of  the  newly-acquired  territory  might 
be  considered  as  extending  to  tho  Pacific  ;  and  if  one  were  to 
consult  the  old  French  maps  for  confirmation  of  such  an  opinion, 
he  would  find  iVew  France,  to  which  Louisiana  belonged,  ox- 
tending  from  ocean  to  ocean.  Yet,  a  perfectly  candid  mind 
would  ignore  the  authority  of  maps  drawn  from  rumor  and 
imagination,  and  wish  to  found  an  opinion  upon  facts.  It  was 
to  secure  such  facts  and  to  carry  out,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
lately-formed  policy  of  leading  statesmen,  that  President  Jeffer- 


A   8Ym/P8I8  OF   EARLY   HISTORY. 


Bon,  ovon  before  the  tninsfor  of  Louinianft  was  complotod,  ad- 
dressed a  confidontiul  moHsugo  to  Congress,  urgiiij^  that  meann 
should  be  immodiuti'ly  taken  to  explore  the  sources  of  the 
Missouri  and  the  Datle,  and  to  ascertain  whether  the  CyV)hnul)ia. 
the  Oregon,  the  Colorailo,  or  any  other  river,  offered  a  direct 
and  practicable  water-conimunicutiou  across  the  continent,  for 
purposes  of  commerce.  The  sui^gestions  of  the  President  bein^ 
approved,  commissions  were  issued  to  Captains  Merriwcther 
Lewis  and  William  Clarke  to  perform  this  service.  Captain 
Lewis  made  immediate  preparations,  and,  by  the  time  that  the 
news  of  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  had  been  received,  was 
ready  to  commence  his  journey  to  the  unknown  West. 

It  was  already  summer  when  this  news  was  received,  and, 
although  the  party  were  ready  to  advance  into  the  Indian 
cou'itry,  it  wnf  too  late  to  accomplish  much  of  their  journo}- 
beioro  wintoi  ;  besi«'o8  which,  some  delay  occurring  in  the  sur- 
render of  no  coun  >y  west  of  the  Mississippi,  the  party  were 
not  able  ;.j  cross  .hat  river  until  December,  in  consequence  of 
which  detention,  tlio  ascont  of  the  Missouri  could  not  be  under- 
taken beioro  the  midulo  of  May  of  the  following  year.  The 
exploring  par'y  Oorxsisted  of  but  forty-four  men, — an  insignifi- 
cant force  to  send  into  an  Indian  country, — yet,  perhaps,  all  the 
safer  for  its  insignificance.  They  had  to  make  the  ascent 
against  the  current  of  the  Mad  River  in  boats,  three  of  which 
sufficed  to  accommodate  this  adventurous  expedition,  liy  the 
end  of  October  they  had  arrived  in  the  Mandan  country,  near 
the  fortj'-eighih  degree  of  hititude,  or  sixteen  hundred  miles 
from  the  Mississippi,  whore  f'ley  mado  tli)ir  winter  camp.  As 
every  school-library  is  furnished  with  the  printed  journal  of 
Lewis  and  Ciarke.  it  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  the  incidents 
of  their  memorable  journey  across  the  continent.  It  is  only 
with  its  results  that  we  have  to  deal  in  this  sketch. 

One  of  its  results  was  developed  at  this  early  period,  or 
during  their  stay  at  the  Mandan  village :  which  was,  to  alarm 
the  Northwest  Fur  Company,  and,  through  them,  the  English 
government,  as  *^  the  designs  of  the  Americans  concerning  the 
northern  coa*  of  the  Pacific.  It  has  been  before  stated  that 
the  Northwest  Company  had  been  compelled  reluctantly  to 
res',?...  the  posts  along  the  Great  Lakes,  belonging  to  the  United 


24 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


States,  after  the  Eevolutionary  War.  They  still  continued  to 
hunt  and  trap,  and  had  established  their  trading-posts  in  all 
thut  country  lying  about  the  heu  i-watere  of  the  Mississippi ; 
and  their  employees  were  scattered  throughout  the  region  east 
of  the  Missouri,  and  west  of  the  Lakes,  even  having  penetrated, 
on  one  occasion,  to  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

It  happened  that,  while  Lewis  and  Clarke  were  at  the  Man- 
dan  villages,  the  fact  of  their  visit,  and  the  object  of  it,  which 
had  been  explained  to  the  Indians,  were  communicated  to  some 
members  of  the  Northwest  Company,  who  had  a  post  about 
three  days'  journey  from  there.  So  much  alarmed  was  Mr. 
Chaboillez,  who  resided  at  this  post,  that  he  wrote  immediately 
to  another  partner,  Mr.  D.  W.  Harmon,  a  native  of  New  Eng- 
land, and,  upon  receiving  a  visit  from  him,  urged  Mr.  Harmon 
to  set  out  in  the  following  spring  upon  the  same  route  pursued 
by  Lewis  and  Clarke,  accompanied  by  Indian  guides,  doubtless 
with  the  intention  of  arriving  at  the  head-waters  of  the  Mis- 
souri, in  advance  of  the  American  expedition ;  but  in  this 
praiseworthy  strife  for  precedence  they  were  in  this  instance 
defeated, — Mi-.  Harmon  proceeding  no  further  than  the  Mandan 
villages,  while  Lewis  and  Clarke  prosecuted  their  undert'iking 
with  diligence,  leaving  the  Mandan  country  on  the  7th  of  April, 
1805,  and  arriving  at  the  Gi'eat  Falls  of  the  Missouri  on  the 
13th  of  June.  The  reader  need  not  be  reminded  of  the  dilficul- 
ties  attending  such  a  journey  as  the  one  undertaken  by  our 
exploring  party,  when,  the  course  of  navigation  being  inter- 
rupted, boats  had  to  be  abandoned,  toilsome  portages  made,  now 
boats  constructed,  and  all  the  novel  hardships  of  the  wilderness 
endured.  Such  tests  of  courage  have  been  encountered  by 
thousands  since  that  time,  in  the  settlement  of  the  Pacific 
Coast;  but  that  fact  does  not  lessen  the  glory  which  attaches 
to  the  fume  of  the  great  pioneers  commissioned  to  discover  the 
hidden  sources  of  America's  greatest  rivers.  Those  faithful 
services  secured  to  us  inestimable  blessings,  in  extended  terri- 
tories, salubrious  climates,  and  exhaustiess  wealth  of  natural 
reaourceH. 

Lewis  and  Clarke,  having  re-embarked  in  canoes  hollowed 
out  of  logs,  arrived  at  tiio  Gate  of  the  Mountains  on  the  19th  of 
July,  in  the  very  neighborhood  where  thousands  of  men  are  to- 


A   SYNOPSIS   OP   EARLY   HISTORY. 


25 


day  probing  the  earth  for  her  concealed  treasures  of  gold  and 
silver.  Proceeding  on  to  the  several  forks  of  the  Missouri — the 
Jefferson,  the  Madison,  and  the  Gallatin — and  finding  them 
selves  in  the  midst  of  the  mountains,  the  two  captains  loft  a 
portion  of  their  men  to  explore  the  largest  of  these,  while  thoy, 
with  the  remainder  of  the  party,  pushed  on  through  the  moun- 
tains until  they  came  to  streams  flowing  towards  the  west.  At 
this  intimation  that  their  laboi'S  were  about  to  be  crowned  with 
success,  they  rejoined  their  part}'  at  the  head  of  the  Jefforson 
Fork,  and  prepared  for  the  rugged  work  of  crossing  that 
majestic  range,  now  become  so  familiar.  Concealing  their  goods 
and  canoes  in  caches,  after  the  fashion  of  all  knowing  mountain- 
eers, and  being  furnished  with  horses  and  guides  by  the  Sho- 
shones,  or  Snake  Indians,  whose  later  hostility  to  the  whites 
makes  us  wonder  at  their  early  friendship  for  Lewis  and  Clarke, 
the  party  commenced  the  passage  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  on 
the  30th  of  August.  Severe  was  their  toil,  and  great  were  the 
sufferings  Lhey  endured  from  hunger  and  cold ;  but,  at  length, 
their  trials  passed,  they  arrived  at  a  stream  on  which  their 
Indian  guides  allowed  them  to  embark.  Th'.s  was  the  Clear- 
water Eiver,  the  banks  of  which  have  since  become  historic 
ground. 

The  party  were  glad  again  to  be  able  to  resume  water  naviga- 
tion, and  hastened  to  build  their  canoes,  and  place  their  horses 
in  charge  of  the  Chopunish,  or  Nez  Perce  tribe  of  Indians, 
whose  extraordinary  fidelity  to  the  treaty  formed  at  that  time 
with  Lewis  and  Clarke  is  one  of  the  wonders  of  history.  On 
the  7th  of  October  they  began  to  descend  the  Clearwater,  and 
three  daj's  later  entered  upon  that  great  branch  of  the  Colum- 
bia whose  springs  they  had,  indeed,  tasted  in  the  mountains, 
but  upon  whose  bosom  no  party  of  civilized  men  had  ever 
before  embarked. 

Men  are  apt  to  dwell  with  enthusiasm  upon  the  pride  of  a 
conqueror ;  but,  certainly,  there  must  be  that  in  the  exultation 
of  a  discoverer,  which  is  far  more  pure,  elevated,  and  happifying. 
To  have  succeeded,  by  patient  research  and  energetic  toil,  in 
securing  that  which  others  secure  by  blood  and  devastation 
only,  is  justly  a  subject  of  self  congratulatio*i^  as  it  is  also  de- 
serving of  praise.     The  choicest  wine,  from  the  costliest  chalice, 


26 


ATLANTIS    ARISEN. 


I  ■•  I 


could  hardly  have  been  so  sweet  to  the  taste  of  our  hardy 
exploring  party  as  the  ice-cold  draught  of  living  water  dipped 
from  the  mountain  reservoirs  whose  streams  "flowed  towards 
the  west."  With  equal  pride  must  they  have  launched  their 
frail  canoes  on  that  river  which  now  bears  the  name  of  the 
chief  of  the  expedition.  As  they  descended  to  the  junction 
with  the  northern  branch,  and  found  themselves  at  last  fairly 
embarked  on  the  main  Columbia,  when  they  beheld  the  beauty 
and  magnitude  of  this  King  of  Rivers,  and  remembered  that 
their  errand,  so  successfully  carried  out,  was  to  find  a  "  highway 
for  commerce,"  their  toils  and  privations  must  have  appeared  to 
them  rather  in  the  light  of  pleasures  than  of  griefs.  As  the 
first  party  of  white  men  to  pass  through  the  magnificent  moun- 
tain-gap where  the  great  river  breaks  through  the  Cascade 
Rar^ge,  and  to  meet  the  tides  of  the  Pacific  just  on  the  west- 
ward side,  the  party  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  have  won,  and  ever 
must  retain,  r     honorable  renown. 

The  voyage  from  this  point  to  the  mouth  of  tbo  Columbia 
was  soon  accomplished.  On  the  15th  of  November  the  ex- 
pedition landed  at  Cape  Hancock,  comm.only  called  "  Disap- 
pointment," on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  having  travelled  a 
distance  of  more  than  four  thousand  miles  from  the  Mississippi 
River.  The  rainy  season,  which  usually  sets  in  about  the  18th 
of  November,  had  already  commenced,  so  that  our  explorers 
had  some  difiiculty  in  finding  a  suitable  winter  camping-ground. 
At  first  they  tried  the  peninsula  north  of  Cape  Hancock,  but 
were  driven  from  the'r  ground  by  the  floods.  Then  they 
resorted  to  the  south  side  of  the  river,  somewhat  farther  back 
from  the  ocean,  building  a  log  fort  on  a  small  stream  which  is 
still  called  "Lewus  and  Clarke  River."  There  they  contrived 
to  pass  the  winter  without  actual  starvation,  though  they  were 
often  threatened  with  it,  from  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  food  at 
this  season  of  the  year.  Game  was  scarce,  except  in  the  coast 
mountains,  which  are  very  rugged  and  thickly  wooded ;  while 
fishing  could  not  be  carried  on  successfully  except  with  other 
boats  than  their  slight  canoes,  which  were  entirely  unfit  for  the 
winter  winds  and  waves  of  the  lower  Columbia.  The  Indians 
among  wh'>m  they  wintered  called  themselves  "Clatsops,"  and 
were  sufficiently  friendly,  but  had  no  food  to  spare,  save  at  the 


A   SYNOPSIS  OF    EARLY   HISTORY. 


27 


and 


very  highest  prices.  The  Chinooks,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Columbia,  the  same  people  Captain  Gray  had  traded  with  thir- 
teen years  before,  were  equally  exorbitant  in  their  prices,  and 
exercised  a  monopoly  of  the  necessaries  of  life  quite  equal  to 
that  of  the  most  practised  extortionists. 

Nothing  could  be  effected  in  the  way  of  explorations  of  the 
country  during  the  winter  of  1805-6,  on  account  of  the  rains, 
which  were  constant  and  excessive;  and  the  party,  however 
un'villingly,  remained  at  Fort  Clatsop  until  the  middle  of  March, 
going  no  farther  away  than  to  Cape  Lookout,  about  fifty  miles 
down  the  coast.  As  soon  as  the  rainy  season  had  closed,  Lewis 
and  Clarke  re-embarked  their  men,  and  returned  up  the  river, 
surveying  the  shores  on  their  voyage.  On  this  passage  they 
discovered  the  Cowlitz  Eiver,  the  principal  tributary  emptying 
into  the  Columbia  from  the  north  side  anywhere  west  of  the 
Cascades.  The  Wallamet  Eiver  was  also  discovered,  but  re- 
mained unexplored,  from  the  anxiety  of  the  expedition  to  return 
to  the  United  States. 

By  the  middle  of  April  the  party  had  abandoned  their  canoes 
at  the  gap  in  the  Cascade  Mountains,  whero  the  river  forms 
dangerous  rapids ;  and,  purchasing  Indian  horses,  continued  the 
journey  on  horseback  to  the  Nez  Perces  country,  where  1*1686 
faithful  allies  met  them  on  their  return,  not  with  friendship 
only,  but  with  the  animals  confided  to  their  care  the  preceding 
autumn, — an  example  of  Indian  integrity  worthy  of  mention, 
and,  as  it  proved,  indicative  of  a  character  shown  in  the  events 
of  succeeding  yeai'.s. 

After  crossing  the  Eocky  Mountains  to  Clarke's  Eiver,  the 
two  leaders  of  tlie  expedition  separated, — Captain  Lewis  going 
northward,  down  the  Clarke  Eiver,  and  Captain  Clarke  ])ro- 
ceeding  towards  its  source.  On  the  12th  of  August  the  two 
captains  met  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  having  explored 
that  river,  as  well  as  the  Clarke,  and  ti-aversed  a  gi-eat  extent 
of  country  then  unknown  to  white  men,  but  where  white  men 
to-day  are  suffering  the  flushes  and  the  rigors  of  that  most  in- 
fectious and  fatal  comph'int — the  gold-fever — in  the  territory 
of  Montana. 

At  about  the  mouth  of  the  Maria  Eiver,  Captain  Lewis  had 
an  encounter  with  the  Blackfeet,  the  most  savage  and  dreaded 


28 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


1       I 


III 


of  the  mountain  tribes.  In  this  conflict  one  of  the  Indians  was 
killed,  which  caused  the  others  to  desist  at  that  time ;  yet,  no 
doubt,  many  a  white  man's  scalp  has  been  taken  in  revenge, 
according  to  savage  custom,  and  the  wonder  still  remains  that 
the  party  escaped  alive  out  of  the  country. 

After  re-uniting  their  forces — their  mission  being  accomplished 
— the  expedition  once  more  embarked  on  the  Missouri  Elver,  and 
arrived  at  St.  Louis  September  23d,  having  travelled  in  less 
than  three  years,  by  canoe  and  saddle,  carrying  their  own  sup- 
plies, more  than  nine  thousand  miles. 

Of  the  results  of  the  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  it  may 
be  said  that  it  was  the  first  great  act,  wisely  conceived  and 
well  executed,  which  secui-ed  the  Oregon  territory  to  the  United 
States.  It  wa"",  the  beginning,  too,  of  a  struggle  for  possession 
between  this  country  and  Great  Britain,  dating  from  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Northwest  Company's  men  with  the  men  of  the 
American  expedition  at  the  Mandan  villages.  Happily  all  these 
struggles  for  precedence  are  matters  of  past  history  now ;  and 
to-day  both  English  and  American  citizens  seek  and  find  homes 
on  Oregon  soil,  where,  according  to  a  wise  act  of  Congress,  one 
may  be  had  for  the  taking. 

The  fii-st  attempt  that  was  made  to  form  a  settlement  on  the 
Columbia  River  was  by  the  Winship  brothers,  in  1810.  On  the 
7th  of  July,  1809,  there  sailed  from  Boston  two  ships, — the 
"  O'Cain,"  Captain  Jonathan  Winship,  and  the  "  Albatross,"  Cap- 
tain Nathan  Winship.  The  "  O'Cain"  proceeded  direct  to  Cali- 
fornia, to  trade  out  a  cargo  of  goods  with  the  padres  of  the 
Missions  and  their  converts;  and  the  "Albatross"  sailed  for 
the  Sandwich  Islands,  with  twenty-five  persons  on  board.  At 
the  Islands  she  provisioned,  and  took  on  board  twenty-five 
more  men,  leaving  port  for  the  Columbia  March  25,  1810. 

Arriving  in  the  river  early  in  the  spring.  Captain  Winship 
cruised  along  up,  for  ten  days,  finally  selecting  a  site  on  the 
south  side,  about  forty  miles  from  its  mouth  and  opposite  the 
place  now  known  as  "  Oak  Point,"  though  its  name  is  borrowed 
from  Captain  Winship's  place.  Here  he  commenced  founding 
an  establishment,  and  for  a  time  everything  progressed  satis- 
factorily. A  tract  of  ground,  being  cleared,  was  planted  with 
vegetables ;  a  building  was  erected ;  and,  while  the  river  banks 


w 


A  SYNOPSIS   OF   EARLY    HISTORY. 


29 


were  gay  with  the  blossoming  shrubbery  of  early  summer,  our 
captain  and  his  fifty  workmen  rejoiced  in  the  promise  of  a 
speedy  consummation  of  their  plans  of  colonization.  Their 
hopes,  however,  were  soon  overthrown  b}-  an  unlooked-for  occur- 
rence; and  the  daring  pioneers,  who  feared  the  face  of  neither 
man  nor  beast  in  all  that  wilderness,  found  themselves  con- 
fronted with  an  adversary  against  which  it  was  useless  to  con- 
tend. The  snows  had  melted  in  the  mountains  a  thousand 
miles  eastward,  and  the  summer  flood  came  down  upon  their 
new  plantation,  washing  the  seeds  out  of  the  earth  and  co\  >ring 
the  floors  of  their  houses  two  feet  deep  with  water,  demon- 
strating conclusively  the  unfitness  of  the  site  selected  for  their 
settlement. 

Without  doubt,  this  company  of  adventurers  were  by  turns 
wroth  and  sorrowful.  Their  seeds  were  lost;  their  residences 
made  uninhabitable,  even  had  they  desired  to  remain,  which 
they  did  not.  Captain  Winshi|.  at  once  re-embarUed  his  men, 
and  sailed  for  California  to  consult  with  his  brother.  Here  he 
was  met  by  the  intelligence  of  the  formation  of  the  Pacific  Fur 
Compan}-,  with  John  Jacob  Astor  at  its  head,  and  the  intention 
of  this  company  to  c"cupy  the  Columbia  Eiver.  Competition 
with  so  powerful  an  association  was  not  to  be  thought  of,  and 
the  brothers  Winship  abandoned  their  enterprise.  As  men  of 
large  ideas  and  fearless  action,  they  should  be  remembered  in 
connection  with  the  history  of  the  Columbia  River. 

In  March  of  the  following  year,  that  portion  of  Mr.  Astor's 
expedition  which  was  to  come  by  sea  did  ai-rive  on  the  Columbia 
— not,  however,  without  the  loss  of  eight  men  on  the  bar, 
through  the  impatience  and  overbearing  temper  of  the  com- 
mander of  the  "  Tonquin,"  Captain  Thorne.  Subsequently,  the 
Indians  of  the  Straits  of  Fuca  destroyed  the  "  Tonquin,"  massa- 
cring all  her  officers  and  crew,  twenty-three  in  number.  The 
land  expedition  suflered  incredible  hardships :  supply  vessels 
failed  to  arrive ;  war  with  Great  Britain  broke  out,  preventing 
Mr.  Astor  from  carrying  out  his  plans ;  the  Canadian  partners 
took  advantage  of  the  situation  to  betray  Mr.  Astor's  interests  ; 
and,  after  two  years  of  hope  deferred,  the  establishment  at 
Astoria  was  sold  out  to  a  British  company,  and  the  enterprise 
abandoned,  the  place  having  been  "  captured"  by  the  British. 


30 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


Ill 


ll 

1 

i 

1 

i 

I 


i 


After  tho  close  of  the  war  of  1812,  Astoria  was  restored  to 
the  United  States,  and  Mr.  Astor  would  have  renewed  his  enter- 
prise, notwithstanding  his  heavy  losses,  had  Congress  guaran- 
teed him  protection  and  lent  its  aid ;  but  the  government 
pursued  a  cautious  policy  at  this  time,  and  the  Oregon  territorj' 
remained  in  the  hands  of  the  British  fur-traders  exclusively  for 
the  twenty  years  following,  notwithstanding  a  treat}'  of  joint 
occupation. 

To  follow  the  chain  of  events,  and  record  the  incidents  of  a 
long  struggle  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  to 
substantiate  a  claim  to  Oregon,  is  the  work  of  the  historian. 
Enough  for  us  that  we  know  which  claim  prevailed;  and  let  us 
proceed  to  the  more  congenial  contemplation  of  the  physical 
features  which  the  country  presents,  touching  lightly  now  and 
then  upon  its  history,  as  tou    sts  may. 


CHAPTEE    III.  .,    .       > 

ABOUT   THK   MOUTH    OP   THE   COLUMBIA. 

Where  the  Columbia  meets  the  sea,  in  an  almost  continuous 
line  of  surf,  is  so^ne  distance  outside  the  capes ;  but  from  the 
one  to  the  other  of  these — that  is,  from  Cape  Hancock  to  Point 
Adams — is  seven  miles.  Should  the  sea  be  calm  on  making  the 
entrance,  nothing  more  than  a  long,  white  line  will  indicate  the 
bar.  If  the  wind  be  fresh,  the  surf  will  dash  up  handsomely ; 
and  if  it  be  stoi'm}?^,  great  walls  of  foam  will  rear  themselves 
threateningly  on  either  side,  and  your  breath  will  be  abated 
while  the  qTiivering  ship,  with  a  most  "  uneasy  motion,"  plunges 
into  the  thick  of  it,  dashes  through  the  white-crested  tumult, 
and  emerges  triumphantly  upon  the  smooth  bosom  of  the  river. 

The  north  channel,  which  is  now  little  used,  comes  in  pretty 
close  under  a  handsome  promontory.  This  promontory  is  tho 
Cape  Hancock  of  Captain  Gray  and  the  United  States  govern- 
ment, and  the  Cape  Disappointment  of  the  English  navigators 
and  of  common  usage,  since  the  long  residence  in  the  country 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 


ABOUT   THE   MOUTH   OF   THE   COLUMBIA. 


31 


Inside  the  base  of  the  cape,  we  find  ourselves  in  a  pretty 
little  harbor,  called  Baker's  Bay  from  its  discoverer,  with  an 
island  or  two  in  it,  and  surrounded  by  sloping  shores,  originally 
densely  covered  with  a  growth  of  spruce,  fir,  and  hemlock,  with 
many  varieties  of  lesser  trees  and  shrubs.  Along  the  strip  of 
low  land,  crescent-shaped  and  edged  with  a  sandy  beach,  are  the 
recently  abandoned  quarters  of  the  gari'ison  of  Fort  Canby.  foi- 
the  cape  was  fortified  during  the  civil  war — when  our  govern- 
ment had  some  distrust  of  the  friendliness  of  the  English  and 
French  powers,  and  some  fears  of  Confederate  cruisers — with 
several  powerful  batteries. 

There  is  also  a  light-house  at  the  point  of  the  cape,  in  which 
a  first-class  Fresnel  light  is  kept,  tended  by  the  resident  of 
a  modest  mansion  under  the  she'ter  of  the  hill,  and  we  are 
tempted  to  take  the  path  winding  around  and  about  up  to  the 
top  of  the  promontory.  What  fine  trees !  What  a  luxuriant 
undergrowth  ! 

Sauntering,  pulling  ferns  and  wild  vines,  exclaiming  at  the 
shadows,  the  coolness,  the  magnificence  of  the  forests,  we  come 
at  last  to  the  summit,  and  emerge  into  open  ground.  Here  all 
is  military  precision  and  neatness  :  gravelled  walks,  grassy  slopes 
and  terraces,  whitened  walls.  When  we  have  done  with  the 
contemplation  of  guns  and  earthworks,  we  turn  eagerly  to  gaze 
at  the  sea;  towatch  the  restless  surf  dashing  itself  against  the 
bar  ;  to  catch  that  wonderful  monotone — "  ever,  forever." 

The  fascination  of  looking  and  listening  would  keep  me  long 
spellbound;  but  our  escort,  vfho  understands  the  symptoms, 
politely  compels  us  '-to  move  on,"  and  directly — very  oppor- 
tunely— we  are  confronted  with  the  light-house  keeper,  who 
offers  to  show  us  his  tower  and  light.  Clambering  up  and  up, 
at  last  we  stand  within  the  great  lantern,  with  its  intense  reflec- 
tions, and  hear  all  about  the  life  of  its  keeper, — how  ho  scours 
and  polishes  by  day,  and  tends  the  burning  oil  by  night.  When 
wo  ask  him  if  the  storm-winds  do  not  threaten  his  tower,  he 
shakes  his  head  and  smiles,  and  says  it  is  an  eerie  place  up 
there  when  the  sou'westers  are  blowing.  But,  somehow,  he 
likes  it ;  he  would  not  like  to  leave  his  place  for  another. 

Then  we  climb  a  little  higher,  going  out  upon  the  iron  bal- 
cony, where  the  keeper  stands  to  do  his  outside  polishing  of  the 


m 


32 


ATLANTIS    ARISEN. 


glass. 


i 


The  view  is  grand  ;  but  what  charms  us  most  is  a  minia- 
ture landscape  reflected  in  one  of  the  facets  of  the  lantern.  It 
is  a  complete  copy  of  the  northwestern  shore  of  the  cape,  a 
hundred  times  more  perfect  and  beautiful  than  a  painter  could 
make  it,  with  the  features  of  a  score  of  rods  concentrated  into 
a  picture  of  a  dozen  inches  in  diameter,  with  the  real  life,  and 
motion,  and  atmosphere  of  nature  in  it.  While  you  gaze  en- 
chanted, the  surf  creeps  up  the  sandy  beach,  the  sea-birds  circle 
about  the  rocks,  the  giant  firs  move  gently  in  the  breeze, 
shadows  flii  over  the  sea,  a  cloud  moves  in  the  sUy ;  in  short,  it 
is  the  loveliest  picture  your  eyes  ever  rested  on. 

When  we  ask  the  light-keeper,  "  What  do  j'ou  do  when  the 
thick  fogs  hang  over  the  coast?"  he  shows  us  a  great  bell, 
which,  when  the  machinery  is  wound  up,  tolls,  tolls,  tolls,  sol- 
emnly in  the  darkness,  to  warn  vessels  off  the  coast.  '•  But," 
he  says,  "  it  is  not  large  jnough,  and  cannot  be  heard  any  great 
distance.  Vessels  usually  keep  out  to  sea  in  a  fog,  and  ring 
their  own  bells  to  warn  off  other  vessels." 

Then  he  shows  us,  at  our  request,  Peacock  Spit,  where  the 
United  States  vessel  of  that  name  was  wrecked,  in  1841 ;  and 
the  South  Spit,  nearly  two  miles  outside  the  cape,  where  the 
"  Shark,"  another  United  States  vessel,  was  lost  in  1846.  The 
bones  of  many  a  gallant  sailor  and  many  a  noble  ship  are  laid 
on  the  sands,  not  half  a  dozen  miles  from  the  spot  where  we 
now  stand  and  look  at  a  tranquil  ocean.  Nor  was  it  in  storms 
that  these  shipping  disasters  happened.  It  was  the  treacherous 
calm  that  met  them  on  the  bar,  when  the  current  or  the  tide 
carried  them  upon  the  sands,  where  they  lay  helpless  until  the 
flood-tide  met  the  current,  and  the  ship  was  broken  up  in  the 
breakers.  Pilotage  and  steam  have  done  away  with  shipwrecks 
on  the  bar. 

We  are  glad  to  think  that  it  is  so.  Having  exhausted  local 
topics  for  conversation,  we  descend  the  winding  stairs,  which 
I'cmind  us  of  those  in  the  "  Spider  and  the  Fly,"  so  hard  are 
they  to  "  come  down  again."  How  still  and  warm  it  is  down 
under  the  shelter  of  the  earth-works!  Descending  by  the 
military  road,  we  come  out  near  the  life-boat  house, — for  there 
is  a  life-saving  station  here, — and,  being  invited,  go  in  to  look 
at  it.     We  find  it  well  furnished  for  its  duties,  which  evidently 


ABOUT   THE    MOUTH    OF   THE   COLUMHIA. 


3.3 


have  been  well  performed,  for  hero  are  the  names  of  half  a 
dozen  vessels  of  different  sorts  which  have  been  rendered 
service  in  their  hour  of  peril. 

There  is  annually  great  loss  of  life  among  the  fishermen  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  and  it  is  here  principally  that  the 
life-saving  station  is  most  useful.  The  number  of  men  rescued 
during  some  seasons  has  reached  half  a  hundred.  The  fisher- 
men have  recognized  this  service  by  presenting  the  captain  of 
the  crew  with  a  powerful  glass,  and  the  men  wear  medals  of 
which  they  are  vory  proud.  Having  inspected  the  well-kept 
boats,  ropes,  and  buoys,  we  take  a  look  at  the  fishing-tackle,  with 
which  the  light-house  keeper  goes  outto  troll  forsalmon.  Glorious 
sport !  The  great,  delicious  fellows,  to  be  caught  by  a  fly  I  But 
we,  humans,  need  not  sermonize  about  being  taken  by  small  bait. 

Baker's  Bay  is  not  without  its  little  history ;  albeit,  it  is 
nothing  romantic.  In  1850  a  company  conceived  the  plan  of 
building  up  a  city,  under  shelter  of  the  cape,  and  expended  a 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  more  or  less,  before  they  became 
aware  of  the  fruitlessness  of  their  undertaking.  By  mistake, 
portions  of  their  improvements  were  placed  on  the  Government 
Reserve,  to  which,  of  course,  they  could  have  no  title.  Yet 
this  error,  although  a  hinderance,  was  not  the  real  cause  of  the 
company's  failure,  which  was  founded  in  the  ineligibility  of  the 
situation  for  a  town  of  importance.  The  buildings  went  to 
decay,  and  the  site  was  finally  overgrown  with  a  young  forest 
of  alders,  spruce,  and  hemlock.  But  after  many  years  the  title 
to  the  land  was  confirmed  to  the  early  speculator,  and  the  town 
of  Ilwaco,  a  summer  resort,  has  grown  up  on  the  site  of  obsolete 
"Pacific  City."  •■ 

There  is  a  fine  beach-drive  of  twenty  rniles  from  the  cape  up 
to  the  entrance  of  Shoalwater  Bay.  and  several  seaside  resorts 
are  scattered  along  it.  From  Ilwaco  to  Sea-Land  is  sixteen  miles, 
this  distance  being  traversed  by  the  Ilwaco  and  Shoalwater 
Bay  Railroad,  which  has  several  stations,  namely,  Stout's,  Cen- 
treville.  Tinker's,  Loomis,  Ocean  Park,  and  Sea-Land,  the  pres- 
ent terminus.  The  cottages  of  summer  residents  are  scattered 
along  for  two  miles  from  Ilwaco,  after  which  the  road  runs  past 
waving  fields  of  grass  and  grain,  and  thrifty  vegetable  gardens. 
For  ft  part  of  the  distance  the  ocean  is  in  full  view,  its  long 

-■.8 


rTi 


34 


ATLANTIS   AEISEN. 


rollers  scorning  to  attack  the  beach  with  a  purpose  to  demolish 
it,  receding  and  renewing  the  onslaught  perpetually.  The 
Hcene  is  rendered  more  wild  by  the  dense  growth  of  dwarf 
timber  covering  the  low  land  stretching  back  to  an  arm  of 
Shoalwater  Bay  lying  to  the  east.  Many  fpohh-wator  laives  or 
lagoons  dot  this  long  peninsula,  which,  with  its  black,  i-ich  soil, 
would  make  profitable  cranberry  fields. 

At  Ocean  Park  there  is  a  grove  of  gnarled  spruce-trees 
through  which  streets  have  been  cleared  from  the  railroad  to 
the  beach,  making  beautiful  vistas  through  which  one  may 
catch  glimpses  of  the  sparkling  sea.  The  trees  which  brave 
the  heavy  northwest  wind  of  summer,  and  the  terrible  strength 
of  the  winter's  southwest  storms,  lean  inland,  and  have  a  stunted 
appearance  very  different  from  the  straight,  tall  timber  of  the 
river  bottoms  and  mountains. 

Sea-Land  is  situated  in  a  spruce  forest,  on  the  inner  shore  of 
the  peninsula,  fronting  Shoalwater  Bay,  the  clearing  being  of 
very  recent  date.  It  has  a  wharf  and  warehouse  extending 
half  a  mile  into  the  bay.  Several  small  steamers  ply  on  these 
waters,  canying  passengers  to  and  from  towns  on  the  mainland 
side,  whence  raili'oads  in  the  near  future  will  convey  them  to 
Gray's  Harbor,  or  into  the  interior  of  Washington. 

To  a  sportsman  with  sufficient  hardihood  to  invade  the 
rugged  and  heavily-timbered  mountains  on  the  east  side  of 
Shoalwater  Bay,  bear,  elk,  and  deer  offer  temptations.  Bear 
are  numerous,  and  keep  fat  on  the  wild  fruit  of  this  region, 
— whortleberries,  sallal,  and  salmon  berries.  They  also  invade 
the  apple-orehai'ds  of  the  settlers,  and  have  to  be  trapped  "or 
their  pres  .inption. 

Returning  as  we  came,  we  take  the  "  General  Canby"  at 
Ilwaco  to  3ross  the  Columbia.  Such  is  its  expanse  that, 
although  its  course  brings  us  off  Chinook  Point,  we  have  but 
an  indistinct  view  of  it.  Not  as  it  was  eighty  years  ago,  as 
Franchere  and  Irving  and  Cox  wrote  about  it, — a  populous  In- 
dian village, — the  dwellings  of  the  white  invader  overshadow 
the  ancient  wigwams.  Even  its  burial-ground,  memelose  illihee, 
which  freely  translated  means  "  spirit  country,"  is  profaned. 
Alas!  nothing  of  one  race  is  sacred  to  another;  least  of  all  is 
there  anything  in  common  between  the  white  and  the  red  man. 


I  ft 


'4 


i  I 


omolish 
.  Tho 
■  dwarf 
iirm  of 
lakes  or 
rich  soil, 

ico-trces 
Iroad  to 
►no  may 
:;h  brave 
strength 
1  Blunted 
or  of  the 

shore  of 

being  of 

xtending 

on  these 

mainland 

'  them  to 

vado  the 
;  side  of 
18.  Bear 
is  region, 
so  invade 
ippc'I   "or 

>anby"  at 
nse    that, 

have  but 
rs  ago,  as 
pulous  In- 
^ershadow 
ose  illihee, 

profaned, 
t  of  all  is 
I  red  man. 


< 

m 


> 
en 

H 
O 

a 


o 
o 

X 

z 
o 

en 
m 

> 

> 

3) 

a 


■f-^ 


II 


A    TALK    AllOUT   A8TOU1A    AND    VICINITY. 


86 


CHAPTER    IV. 

A    TALK    AHOUT   A8T0HIA    AND    VICINITY. 

The  Hituation  of  Asloi-iu,  in  point  of  beauty,  is  certainly  a 
very  fine  one.  The  necic  of  land  occupied  by  the  town  is  made 
a  peninsula  by  Youn<>;'s  Bay  on  one  Hide  and  the  Columbia 
Iliver  on  the  other,  and  points  to  the  northwest.  A  small  cove 
makes  in  at  the  east  side  of  the  neck,  just  back  of  which  the 
ground  rises  much  more  gently  and  smoothly  than  it  docs  a 
little  farther  towards  the  sea.  The  whole  point  was  originally 
covered  with  heavy  timber,  which  came  quite  down  to  high- 
water  mark  ;  and  vvluitevor  there  is  unlovely  in  the  present 
aspect  of  Astoria  arises  from  the  roughness  always  attendant 
upon  the  clearing  up  of  timbered  lands. 

Standing  facing  the  sea  or  the  river,  the  view  is  one  of  un- 
surpassed beauty.  Towards  the  sea,  the  low,  green  point  on 
which  Fort  Stevens  stands — the  Cape  Frondosa  (loafy  cape)  of 
the  Spanish  navigators — and  the  high  one  of  Cape  Hancock, 
topped  by  the  light-house  tower,  mark  the  entrance  to  the  river. 
Above  them  is  a  blue  sky ;  between  them  a  blue  river  celebrat- 
ing eternally  its  union  with  the  sea  by  the  roar  of  its  breakers, 
whoso  white  crests  are  often  distinctly  visible.  There  is  a  sail 
or  two  in  the  offing,  and  a  pilot-boat  going  out  to  bring  them 
over  the  bar;  perhaps  the  vessel  is  from  "  far  Cathay,"  with  the 
silks  and  spices  of  the  Ind.  While  we  gaze,  there  is  seen 
against  the  horizon  the  black  smoke  of  a  steamer.  On  she 
comes  over  the  bar,  breathing  asthmatically  and  beating  the 
waters  with  her  great  wheels  in  a  steady  rhythm,  until  at  last 
the  boom  of  her  gun  gives  notice  to  the  custom-house  officials 
of  her  arrival,  and  all  the  town  hastens  to  the  wharf  to  learn 
of  her  cargo  and  her  passengers,  and  tv;  question  what  sort  of 
a  voyage  she  has  had. 

Towards  night,  when  the  sun  is  setting  behind  the  light-house 
cape,  and  gilding  sky  and  sea  beyond  the  bar,  there  suddenly 
appear  upon  the  river  hundreds  of  fishing-boats,  whose  white 


T= 


36 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


'i'l 


sails  dot  its  blue  surface  as  summer  clouds  a  Juno  sky.     They 
are  going  out  to  their  night's  fishing  with  drag-nets. 

Opposite  us,  and  distant  four  miles,  is  the  northern  shore, — a 
line  of  rounded  highlands,  covered  with  trees,  with  a  narrow, 
low,  and  level  strip  of  land  between  them  and  the  beach.  The 
village  of  Chinook  is  a  little  to  the  northwest ;  another  village, 
Knappton,  a  little  to  the  northeast.  Following  the  opposite 
shorto-line  with  the  ey^_  o.^  far  to  the  east  as  the  view  extends,  a 
considerable  indentation  in  the  shore  marks  Gray's  Bay,  where 
the  discoverer  of  the  river  went  ashore  with  his  mate,  to  "  view 
the  country." 

On  the  Astoria  side  the  shore  curves  beautifully  in  a  north- 
east direction,  quite  to  Tongue  Point,  four  miles  up  the  river. 
This  point  is  one  of  the  handsomest  projections  on  the  Columbia. 
Connected  with  the  ma'n-lund  by  a  low,  naiTow  isthmus,  it  rises 
gi'adually  to  the  height  of  fifty  or  sixty  feet,  and  is  crowned 
with  a  splendid  growth  of  trees.  Between  Tongue  Point  and 
Astoria  was  erected  the  first  custom-house  in  Oregon  ;  the  build- 
ing and  wharf  have  gone  to  decay,  and  'Upper  Astoria"  has 
become  united  to  the  main  town  by  a  line  of  fish-canning  estab- 
lishmeh's. 

Following  down  the  curving  shore,  I  inquire  for  the  site  of  the 
Astor  establishment  of  1811  and  the  cove  where  the  "Dolly" 
was  launched.  A  few  years  ago,  1  am  told,  the  foundations  of 
Fort  George,  as  the  place  was  named  by  the  English  successors 
to  Astor,  could  have  been  traced,  but  they  are  now  built  over, 
and  the  cove  in  front  is  also  concealed  from  view  bj'  a  wilder- 
ness of  wharves. 

In  1849,  a  company  or  t'vo  of  Unitpd  States  soldiers  being 
temporarily  quartered  in  the  old  "  Shark"  house,  a  squared-log 
mansion  built  to  shelter  the  orew  of  the  United  States  schooner 
wrecked  on  the  bar  i'l  1346,  the  canoes  of  eight  hundred  native 
wari'iois  of  the  Chinooks  covered  the  water  in  Astor  Bay, 
curious,  as  riavages  always  are,  to  watch  the  acts  and  note  the 
customs  of  civilized  men.  Not  a  canoe  is  novv  in  sight.  The 
V.  hite  race  are  to  the  rod  as  sun  to  snow :  as  silently  and  surely 
the  red  men  disappear,  dissipated  by  the  beams  of  civilization. 
Among  those  who  came  to  gaze  at  the  ovt.-rpov»'ering  white  race 
on  that  occasion  was  an  olJ  Chinook  chief,  named  Waluska,  the 


!    ,^l 


A   TALK   ABOUT   ASTORIA   AND   VICINITY. 


37 


They 


view 


bus 


number  of  whose  years  was  one  hundred.  His  picture,  which 
some  one  gave  me,  shows  a  shrewd  character.  So,  no  doubt, 
looked  Com-com-ly,  the  chief  whom  VV^ashingion  Irving  describes 
in  his  "  Astoria,"  and  whose  contemporary  this  venerable  savage 
must  have  been.  His  then  sightless  eyes,  in  his  early  manhood 
beheld  the  entrance  into  the  river  of  that  vessel  whose  name  it 
bears.  Between  that  time  and  the  day  of  his  death  ho  saw  the 
Columbia  Eiver  tribes,  which  once  numbered  thirty  thousand 
souls,  decimated  again  and  again,  until  they  scarcely  counted  up 
one-tenth  of  that,  number.  Only  a  few  years  ago,  I  am  told, 
there  might  have  been  found,  on  a  prelty,  level. piece  of  land 
around  Smith's  Point  west  of  Astoria,  away  from  the  shingly 
beach,  and  where  on  the  edge  of  the  forest  thickets  of  wild  roses, 
white  S|,'r8ea,  woodbine,  and  mock-orange  made  a  charming 
solitude,  an  Indian  lodge,  the  residence  of  the  native  Clatsop. 
Exteriorly,  the  Clatsop  residence  could  not  be  praised  for  its 
beauty,  being  made  of  cedar  planks,  set  Upright  and  fastened  to 
a  square  or  oblong  frame  of  poles,  and  roofed  with  cedar  bark. 
Outside  were  numberless  dogs,  ar.d  some  pretty  girls  of  ten  and 
twelve  years  of  ago,  with  glorious  great,  black,  smiling  eyes. 
Inside  might  be  soon  throe  squaws  of  various  ages,  braiding 
baskets  and  tending  a  baly  of  tender  age,  with  two  "  warriors" 
sitting  on  their  haunches  and  doing  nothing;  and  salmon  eveiy- 
wiiere, — on  the  fire,  on  the  walls,  overhead,  dripping  grease,  and 
smelling  villanously,  salinun, — nothing  but  salmon.  A  conversa- 
tion with  the  mother  of  the  little  stranger,  in  jargon,  related  to 
the  fair  complexion  of  the  tillicum.  One  of  the  warriors,  pre- 
sumed to  be  its  papa,  laughed  and  declared  it  all  was  as  it  should 
be.     Such  are  the  benefits  of  civilization  to  the  savage  I 

I  went  in  search  of  this  aboriginal  family  and  fell  in  with  a 
ditterent  sort  of  savage, — an  Irishman,  on  a  little  patch  of  ground 
which  he  cultivates  after  a  fashion  of  his  own,  at  the  same  time 
doing  his  housekeeping  in  preference  to  being  '-bothered  with 
a  woman."  He  is  cooking  his  afternoon  meal,  which  consists  of 
soup  made  from  boiling  a  ham-bone,  with  thistles  for  greens,  and 
a  cup  of  spruce  tea.  Think  of  this,  unlucky  men,  bothered 
with  womcii,  who,  but  for  them,  might  yourselves  be  subsisting 
on  thistles  and  spruce  tea  I  ••■ 

Young's  Bay,  which  forms  the  southwest  bouni'nvy  of  Smith's 


■I 


i  ,) 


n 


m 


38 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


Point,  is  a  deep  i^'.et  of  the  Columbia,  and  receives  the  waters 
of  Young's  Eiver,  Lewis  and  Clarke's  Kiver,  and  the  Skipanon, 
all  which  flow  I'rom  the  south ;  Young's  River,  however,  having 
two  considerable  branches  coming  in  from  the  east.  The  penin- 
sula formed  by  Young's  Bay  and  the  ocean  is  a  sandy  plain, 
roughened  with  nriany  hummocks,  cut  up  by  tide-sloughs,  lakes, 
and  marshy  hollows,  and  timbered  near  the  sea  with  scrubby 
pines.  It  has  two  rivers  rising  in  the  Cf^ast  Eange, — one,  Lewis 
and  Clarke's,  emptying  into  Yoni  /''  ]  and  one,  the  Neah- 
canacum,  flowing  into  the  ocean,  i  ^iv  :poD  the  spot  beside 
the  former  where  the  bravo  explorers  Lc  »vis  and  Clarke  wintered 
in  1805-6,  subsiBting  themselves  and  thcii'  company  on  clk-n'.eat 
obtained  on  this  peninsula.  There  they  listened  to  Indian  tales 
of  the  Yankee  traders  who  had  been  in  the  river  in  past  times, 
and  even  learned  their  names  and  the  names  of  their  vosselr, 
so  well  had  they  been  remembered  by  the  natives.  The  Neah- 
canacum  is  a  beautiful  mountain  stream,  overhung  with  trees, 
rapid  and  cold  enough  for  trout-fishing,  and  deep  enough  for 
boating.  Very  singularly,  it  runs  parallel  to  the  ocean  and  very 
near  it,  and  is  one  of  the  most  charming  features  of  the  sum- 
mer resort  known  as  Clatsop  Beach.  There  is  go  d  hunting  in 
the  coast  mountains  bordering  on  Clatsop  Pla'  ■ 
aTid  this  sea-bathing  place  has  for  many  yea;  v  >  ; 
tion-iji'ound  of  Portlanders  in  the  dry  montl .;  .  , 
and  Septombei',  a  distinction  now  shai'od  by  simi.. 
the  beach  north  of  the  Columbia.  Steamers  leave  Purii-und  late 
in  the  evening,  arriving  at  Astoria  in  the  morning,  throughout 
the  week  ;  and  on  Saturdays  leave  the  city  early  enough  to 
reach  their  destination  the  same  evening  and  give  business  men 
a  Sunday  with  their  families  at  the  sea-side,  to  which  they  are 
conveyed  by  >^oat  and  train  ftv  •  i  .^.storia. 

From  Young's  Bay  there  is  a  ew  of  S  ■  'He  Mountain,  the 
highest  of  its  twin  peaks,  Neah-car-ny,  J  i>^  -  the  subject  of  a 
tradition  preserved  among  the  Indians  oi  .^  •  ;t  'el  once  cast 
ashore  near  the  mouth  of  their  rivor,  the  crew  of  which  were 
saved,  together  witii  the' •  private  pi'opert}',  and  a  bo.K  which 
they  carr.-d  ashov  and  bu'i^d  on  Mount  Neah-car-ny,  with 
much  cai'e,  leaving  two  s'.vjius  placed  on  it  in  the  form  of  a 
cross. 


0  the  south, 

i  ':h'j  reci'ea- 

H'.-\  August, 

Ttworts  on 


A   TALK   ABOUT   ASTORIA   AND    VICINITY. 


39 


Anothei*  version  is  that  one  of  their  own  number  was  slain, 
and  his  bones  laid  on  top  of  the  box  when  it  was  buried.  This, 
were  it  true,  would  more  effectually  keep  away  the  Indians  than 
all  the  sw^ords  in  Spain. 

The  story  sounds  very  well,  and  is  firmly  believed  by  the 
Indians,  who  cannot  be  induced  to  go  near  the  spot,  because 
their  ancestors  were  told  by  those  whe  buried  the  box,  that, 
should  they  ever  go  near  it,  they  would  provoke  the  wrath  of 
the  Great  Spirit.  The  tale  corresponds  with  that  told  by  the 
Indians  of  the  upper  Columbia,  who  say  that  some  shipwrecked 
men,  one  of  whom  was  called  Soto,  lived  two  or  three  yeai's 
with  their  tribe,  and  then  left  them  to  try  to  reach  the  Spanish 
countries  overland.  It  is  probable  enough  that  a  Spanish 
galleon  may  have  gone  ashore  near  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia, 
and  it  agrees  with  the  character  of  the  early  explorers  of  that 
nation  that  they  should  undertake  to  reach  Mexico  by  laud. 
That  they  never  did,  ce  feel  sure,  and  give  a  sigh  to  their 
memorj'. 

If  the  tourist  is  so  fortunate  as  to  secure  an  old  Astorian  for  a 
guide,  he  ma}'-,  if  he  chooses,  call  up  manifold  "  spii'its  from  the 
vasty  deep."  One  of  the  stories  of  wreck  a  century  or  so  ago 
relates  to  our  almond-eyed  neighbors  at  the  antipodes.  The 
story-teller  will  most  likely  take  from  his  pocket,  where  he  must 
have  placed  it  for  this  purpose,  a  thin  cake  of  beeswax,  well 
sanded  over,  which  he  avers  was  a  portion  of  the  cargo  of  a 
Japanese  junk,  cast  ashore  near  the  Columbia  in  some  time  out 
of  mind.  When  we  have  wondered  over  this,  to  us,  singular 
evidence  of  wrecking,  he  produces  another,  in  the  form  of  a 
waxei:  tube.  At  this  we  are  more  stultified  than  before,  and 
thon  art.  <^ol'i  that  this  was  a  large  wax  candle,  such  as  the 
Japanese  priest,  as  well  as  the  Eoman,  uses  to  burn  before 
altars.  The  wick  is  entirely  rotted  out,  leaving  the  candle  a 
hoilow  C3linder  of  wax. 

By  this  self-evident  explanation  we  are  convinced.  Certain 
it  is  that  for  years,  whenever  there  has  been  an  unusually 
violent  storm,  portions  of  this  waxen  cargo  are  washed  ashor  •, 
ground  full  of  sand.  A  3  beeswax  is  a  common  commodity  in 
Japan,  wo  see  no  reason  to  doubt  that  this,  which  the  sea  gives 
up  from  time  to  time,  originally  came  from  there.     The  suppo- 


Tjrsp" 


Ban 


40 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


1 

Ij: 

i- 

(I 

1 

■ 

1 

1 

ll 


rtition  is  the  more  natural,  as  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  is 
exactly  opposite  the  northern  extremity  of  that  Island  Empire, 
and  a  junk,  once  disabled,  would  naturally  drift  this  way.  Tbc 
thing  has  been  known  to  occur  in  later  years  ;  and  that  other 
wrecks,  probably  Spanish,  have  happened  on  this  coast,  is 
evidenced  by  the  light-haired  and  freckle-faced  natives  of 
some  portions  of  it  farther  north,  discovered  bj-  the  earliest 
traders. 

Fort  Stevens,  on  the  north  shore  of  the  Clatsop  Peninsula,  is 
a  military  post  occupying  a  low,  sandy  plain,  just  inside  the 
projection  of  Point  Adams.  It  is  one  of  the  strongest  and  best- 
urnicd  on  the  Pacific  coast.  Its  shape  is  a  nonagon,  surrounded 
by  a  ditch,  thirty  feet  wide.  This  ditch  is  again  surrounded  by 
earthworks,  intended  to  ,protect  the  wall  of  the  fort,  from 
which  rise  the  earthworks  supporting  the  ordnance.  Viewed 
from  the  outside,  nothing  is  seen  but  the  gently-inclined  banks 
of  earth,  smoothly  sodded.  The  officers'  quarters,  outside  the 
fort,  are  very  pleasant ;  and,  although  there  is  nothing  attrac- 
tive in  the  location  of  the  fort,  or  in  ity  surroundings,  it  is  an 
interesting  place  in  which  to  spend  an  hour.  The  view  from 
the  embankment  is  extensive,  commanding  the  entrance  to  the 
river,  the  fortifications  of  Cape  Hancock,  o^jposite,  and  the 
handsome  highlands  of  the  north  side,  as  well  as  of  a  portion 
of  Young's  Bay.  The  troops  quartered  here  have  been  teni- 
poraril}-  withdrawn  to  accommodate  the  officers  and  men  con- 
nected with  the  engineer  department  of  the  United  States 
Army,  who  are  at  work  upon  a  jetty  built  by  the  government 
to  improve  the  south  channel  of  the  Columbia,  Avhich  extends 
from  Fort  Stevens  four  miles  out  towards  deep  water,  and  will 
probably  be  still  further  extended,  the  improvement  in  the 
channel  bjing  manifest.  This  Avork  was  commenced  in  1885, 
before  which  the  channels  over  the  bar  were  capricious  in  loca- 
tion and  variable  in  depth,  the  water  on  the  bar  being  from 
nineteen  to  twenty-one  feet,  and  the  channels  from  one  to  thi'co 
■  in  number.  The  cifcct  of  the  jetty  has  been  to  build  up  Clatsop 
spit,  and  concentrate  the  waters  on  the  middle  sands,  which 
have  been  removed,  leaving  from  eighteen  to  twenty-five  feet  of 
water  in  their  place.  Between  three  and  four  square  miles  of 
ground    in   front  of  Fort  Stevens  have  been  built   up,  where 


A   TALK    ABOUT   ASTORIA   AND   VICINITY. 


41 


formerly  it  was  being  eaten  away  by  the  impingement  of  the 
current  upon  the  shore-line. 

Tansy  Point,  on  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Clatsop  Penin- 
sula, and  adjoining  the  military  reservation,  has  recently  been 
laid  off  in  town  lots,  and  named  New  Astoria.  This  brings  to 
mind  the  project  of  some  adventurers  of  1839,  one  of  whom 
was  J.  T.  Farnham.  author  of  the  "  History  of  Oregon  Terri- 
tory," and  another,  Medorum  Crawford,  of  Salem,  in  this  State, 
to  build  a  city  to  bo  a  second  New  York,  on  chis  identical  point. 
We  build  cities  with  wonderful  rapidity  in  these  days,  with 
every  force  made  available.  But  what  courage  and  what  imag- 
ination must  these  young  fellows  have  had,  who  crossed  the 
continent  "  by  hook  and  by  crook"  to  found  a  New  York  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia !  Few  of  them  ever  saw  their  destina- 
tion. 

Another  recent  town  enterprise  is  East  Astoria,  laid  out  above 
Tongue  Point,  at  the  mouth  of  John  Day  River,  an  affluent  of 
the  Columbia.  As  a  suburb  of  Astoria  it  will  in  time  be  settled 
up,  but  as  an  independent  site  it  has  no  apparent  advantages. 
A  local  railway  line  has  been  projected  which  is  to  connect  New 
Astoria  with  old  Astoria  by  following  around  the  shore  of 
Young's  Bay  to  Smith's  Point,  which  is  also  now  laid  off  in  city 
lots.  A  siadlar  connection  will  probably  be  made  with  the 
eastern  addition.  Astoria,  although  the  oldest  American  settle- 
ment on  tliG  Fuciflc  coa3t,  has  been  very  slow  of  development. 
The  situation  for  a  commercial  entrepot,  although  in  some  re- 
spects a  fine  one,  had  its  drawbacks,  being  cut  off  from  the 
interior  by  the  densely-timbered  mountains  of  the  Coast  Range, 
and  having  apparently  few  resources  outside  of  salmon  canning, 
which  business  is  of  comparatively  recent  date.  If  you  had 
asked  an  Astorian  in  1870  what  constituted  the  importance  of 
his  town,  present  or  future,  he  would  have  told  you  that  it  had 
a  commodious  harbor,  with  depth  of  water  enough  to  accom- 
modate vessels  of  the  deepest  draft,  with  good  anchorage,  and 
shelter  from  southwest  (winter)  storms.  He  would  have 
pointed  to  the  forts  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  which  made 
business;  to  the  custom-house,  which  brought  business;  to  the 
pilotage  of  all  incoming  and  outgoing  vessels;  to  a  certain 
amount  of  lumber  manufactured  here,  and  oement  manufactured 


'■"I!, 


■IT""" 


■#| 


42 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


at  Knappton,  by  workmen  who  spent  their  wages  in  Astoria, 
and  so  on. 

If  you  had  inquired  what  back  country  it  had  to  support  it, 
he  would  have  pointed  to  Clatsop,  and  the  valley  of  the  Ne- 
halem,  south  of  it;  and  have  told  you  that  it  is  but  seven^^v 
miles  into  the  great  valley  of  Western  Oregon,  and  that  a  rau 
road  is  to  be  built  into  it  from  Astoria,  through  the  coast  moun- 
tains. Ho  would  mention,  besides,  tha'  there  are  numerous 
small  valleys  of  streams  running  into  the  Columbia  within 
twenty  miles,  which  are  of  the  best  of  rich  bottom-lands,  and 
only  need  opening  up.  This  was  the  Astorian's  view  of  his 
town,  and  nothing  to  the  contrary  could  be  seen.  That  there 
were  in  the  neighborhood  of  Astoria  many  elements  of  wealth, 
both  mineral  and  agricultural,  which  only  required  time  and 
capital  to  develop,  could  not  be  doubted,  even  then.  The  same 
conditions  remain,  but  the  resources  then  modestly  claimed  have 
been  considerably  developed. 

To  fishing,  more  than  to  any  other,  or  all  other,  business, 
Astoria  owes  its  prosperity  from  1870  to  the  present  time.  The 
first  fishery  established  on  the  Lower  Columbia  since  1834,  when 
Wyetb  failed,  was  in  1862,  by  Captain  John  West,  of  Westport, 
some  distance  above  Astoria;  the  first  cannery  in  1867,  by  Hap- 
good  and  Hume,  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  also  above 
Astoria.  A  fishery  proper  is  understood  to  mean  a  barrelling 
establishment,  while  a  cannery  is  one  where  fish  are  preserved 
in  cans,  either  fresh  or  spiced,  and  pickled.  Often  they  are 
combined. 

The  fishing  season  begins  in  May,  and  ends  in  August.  Tiie 
manner  of  taking  salmon  in  the  Columbia  is  usually  by  drift- 
nets,  from  twenty  to  a  hundred  fathoms  long.  The  boats  used 
by  the  fishermen  are  similar  to  the  Whitehall  boat.  According 
to  laws  of  their  own,  the  men  engaged  in  taking  the  fish,  whore 
the  drift  is  large,  allow  each  boat  a  stated  time  to  go  back  and 
forth  along  the  drift  to  hook  up  the  salmon.  The  meshes  of 
the  nets  are  just  of  a  size  to  catch  the  fish  by  the  gills,  when 
attempting  to  pass  through  ;  and  their  misfortune  is  betrayed  to 
the  watchful  eye  of  the  fisherman  by  the  bobbing  of  the  corks 
on  the  surface  of  the  river. 

When  brought  to  the  fishery,  they  are  piled  up  on  long  tables 


A   TALK   ABOUT   ASTORIA   AND   VICINITY. 


43 


which  project  out  over  the  water.  Here  stand  Chinamen,  two 
at  each  table,  armed  with  long,  sharp  knives,  who,  with  great 
celerity  and  skill,  disembowel  and  behead  the  fresh  arrivals, 
pushii'g  the  offal  over  the  brink  into  the  river  at  the  same  time. 
After  cleaning,  the  fish  are  thrown  into  brine  vats,  where  they 
remain  fiom  one  to  two  days  to  undergo  the  necessary  shrink- 
age, which  is  nearly  one-half.  They  are  then  taken  out,  washed 
thoroughly,  and  packed  down  in  barrels,  with  the  proper 
quantity  of  salt.  That  they  may  keep  perfectly  well,  it  is 
necessary  to  heap  thetn  up  in  the  barrels,  and  foi'ce  them  down 
with  a  screw-press. 

The  canning  process,  which  was  kept  secret  for  one  or  two 
seasons,  is  a  much  more  elaborate  one,  requiring  a  large  outlay 
many  hands,  and  much  skill  and  precision,  for  its  success. 
Such  was  the  profit  derived  from  this  business  that  canneries 
multiplied  rapidly  until  1880,  when  it  reached  its  height,  since 
which  time  there  has  been  a  decrease  in  the  output,  owing  to 
over-fishing.  The  legislatui*e  has  come  to  the  protection  of 
salmon  with  a  law  confining  fishing  to  a  period  from  the  first  of 
April  to  the  first  of  August.  A  hatchery  is  also  in  operation  on 
the  Clackamas  Eiver,  a  branch  of  the  VVallamet,  where  spawn 
is  cared  for  and  developed,  the  young  fish  being  place  1  in  the 
river  at  a  proper  stage  of  growth.  With  these  precautions,  it 
is  hoped  to  save  this  industry  from  further  loss,  and  even  to 
excel  its  former  yield. 

There  are  nineteen  canneries  at  Astoria,  in  which  are  invested 
two  million  dollars,  and  almost  as  many  more  which  are  tribu- 
taiy  to  it,  the  capital  operating  them  being  furnished  by  Astoria. 
Shipments  are  made  direct  to  foreign  countries,  as  well  as  to 
domestic  ports.  In  1889  one  cargo  of  salmon  which  was  cleai'ed 
for  Liverpool  was  valued  at  three  hundred  and  fourteen  thou- 
sand three  hundred  and  three  dollar^,  ihe  largest  cargo,  with 
one  exception,  ever  cleared  direct,  by  sail,  for  a  foreign  port 
from  the  Pacific  coast.  Astoria  is  the  greatest  salmon-fishing 
station  in  the  world,  the  canneries  using  between  four  hun- 
dred thousand  and  five  hundred  thousand  salmon  annually,  and 
Astoria  sends  out  larger  cargoes  by  sailing-vessels  than  San 
Francisco  of  fish  and  wheat; 

There  is  no  part  of  the  Pacific  coast  so  well  adapted  to  fish- 


^    '-IPW" 


44 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


curing  as  Oregon  and  "Washington.  The  climate,  either  north 
or  south  of  their  latitude,  is  either  too  moist  or  too  dry.  Wood 
for  barrels  is  close  at  hand  ;  and,  not  yet  utilized,  close  at  hand, 
too,  is  the  best  salt  in  the  world  for  curing  meats  of  any  kind. 
Seeing  to  what  an  immenso  business  salmon-fishing  is  growing, 
one  cannot  help  wishing  that  Nathaniel  Wyeth,  who  tried  so 
hard,  in  1832,  to  establish  a  fishery  on  the  Columbia,  and  failed 
through  a  combination  of  causes,  could  see  his  dream  fulfilled, 
of  making  the  Columbia  famous  for  its  fisheries  and  its  lumber 
trade.  But  he,  like  most  enthusiasts,  was  born  too  soon  to 
behold  the  realization  of  the  truths  he  felt  convinced  of 

There  are  several  species  of  salmon  and  salmon-trout  which  are 
found  in  the  Columbia.  Of  these,  three  species  of  the  silvery 
spring  salmon,  known  to  naturalists  as  Salmo  quinnat,  S.  gairdneri, 
and  S.  paucidens,  are  those  used  for  commercial  purposes,  and 
known  as  the  "  square-tailed"  and  "  white  salmon," — the  third 
species  being  considered  as  smaller  individuals  of  the  same 
kinds,  though  really  distinct  in  kind. 

When  they  enter  the  river,  near  its  mouth,  they  may  be 
caught  by  hook  and  bait.  The  Indians  use  small  hei'ring  for 
bait,  sinking  it  with  a  stone,  and  trolling,  by  paddling  silently 
and  occasionally  jerking  the  line.  Near  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  they  can  be  taken  with  the  fly ;  but,  as  salmon  do 
not  feed,  on  their  annual  journey  up  the  river  to  spawn,  it  is 
useless  to  oflfer  them  bait.  They  can  only  be  caught  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  ocean  by  nets  and  seines,  or  by  spearing.  The 
natives  usually  take  them  by  using  scoop-nets,  which  they  dip 
into  the  water,  at  random,  near  the  falls  and  rapids,  where  large 
numbers  of  salmon  collect  to  jump  the  falls.  As  these  falls  are 
all  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  sea,  by  the  time  they 
arrive  at  them  the  fish  are  more  or  less  emaciated,  from  fasting 
and  the  exertion  of  stemming  currents  and  climbing  rapids, 
and,  consequently,  not  in  so  good  a  condition  as  when  caught 
near  the  sea.     Hence  the  superior     lality  of  Chinook  salmon. 

The  numbers  of  all  kinds  of  salmon  which  ascend  the 
Columbia  annually  is  something  wonderful.  They  seem  to  be 
seeking  quiet  and  safe  places  in  which  to  deposit  their  spawn, 
and  thousands  of  them  never  stop  until  they  reach  the  great 
falls  of  the  Snake  Eiver,  more  than  six  hundred  miles  from  the 


A  TALK   ABOUT   ASTORIA    AND    VICINITY. 


45 


sea,  or  those  of  Clarke's*  B\)rlc,  a  still  greater  ciiHtance.  All  the 
Bmall  tributai'ies  of  the  Snake,  Boise,  Powder,  Burnt,  and 
Payette  Rivers  swarm  with  them  in  the  months  of  September 
and  October. 

Great  numbers  of  salmon  die  on  having  discharged  their  in- 
stinctive duty ;  some  of  them,  evidently,  because  exhausted  by 
their  long  journey,  and  others,  apparently,  because  their  term 
of  life  ends  with  arrival  and  spawning.  Their  six  hundred 
miles  of  travel  against  the  current,  and  exertion  in  overcoming 
rav'  Is,  or  jumping  falls,  often  deprives  them  of  sight,  and  wears 
off  theii-  noses.  Of  course,  all  these  mutilated  individuals 
perish,  besides  very  many  others ;  so  that  the  shores  of  the 
small  lakes  and  tributaries  of  both  branches  of  the  Columbia 
are  lined,  in  autumn,  with  dead  and  dying  fish.  But  they  leave 
their  roe  in  the  beds  of  these  interior  rivers,  to  replace  them  in 
their  return  to  the  sea  bj-  still  greater  numbers. 

The  fisheiy  business  has  developed  vastly  improved  methods 
of  taking  the  salmon,  including  "salmon  wheels,"  wliich,  placed 
in  the  narrower  portions  of  the  Columbia,  as  at  the  Cascades, 
scoop  them  up  by  the  hundreds  every  minute.  The  fishermen 
who  supply  the  Astoria  canneries,  however,  do  so  by  means  of 
boats  and  nets,  which  are  thrown  out  at  night,  and  drawn  in  at 
an  early  hour  in  the  morning.  It  is  a  perilous  occupation  about 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  where  currents,  tides,  and  winds 
must  be  encountered.  Formerly  the  men  were  employed  and 
furnished  with  boats  and  nets,  an  outfit  costing  several  hundred 
dollars.  But  in  1880  the  fishermen,  chiefly  Scandinavians,  com- 
bined to  sell  their  fish  by  the  piece,  at  fifty  cents  each  ;  and  this 
year  they  have  asked  a  dollar,  and  a  dollar  and  a  quarter.  At 
the  same  time,  owing  to  the  great  amount  of  fish  unconsumed 
in  the  market,  from  last  year's  catch,  a  low  price  for  canned 
salmon  is  prevailing,  and  this  year's  business  will  not  prove  as 
remunerative  as  in  former  seasons.  About  four  thousand  men 
are  employed  every  season  in  the  salmon  fishing  and  canning. 

Besides  the  salmon  of  commerce,  the  Columbia  furnishes  a 
great  many  other  species  of  edible  fish,  including  salmon-trout, 
sturgeon,  tom-cod,  flounder,  and  smelt, — all  of  which  are  ex- 
cellent table-fish,  ii  their  proper  seasons. 

There  are  three  large  lumbei'-mills  located  at  Astoria,  manu- 


46 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


i 


facturing  duily  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  feet  of  rough 
and  dressed  lumber;  a  planing-mill,  and  a  box-factory  turning 
out  annually  one  million  boxes ;  besides  half  a  dozen  other  mills 
in  the  vicinity.  The  limber  to  feed  these  mills  is  in  the  imme- 
diate neighborhood,  and  consists  of  fir,  spruce,  hemlock,  and 
cedar.  Spruce  is  used  for  boxes,  owing  to  its  being  odorless 
and  free  from  warping,  Ship  and  bridge  timber  is  also  obtained 
from  the  adjacent  forests.  The  material  for  manufacturing  fur- 
niture is  abundant, — namely,  oalf,  maple,  ash,  cedar,  larcb,  and 
alder,  which  is  still  unappropriated. 

Astoria  has  a  largo  iron  and  brass  foundry,  three  machine-, 
two  boiler-,  and  several  blacUsmith-shops ;  but  the  iron,  coal, 
and  limestone  in  its  vicinity  are  unworked  ;  a  tannery  utilizes 
the  helmlock  bark  found  conveniently  near ;  these  few  manu- 
facturing enterprises  being  all  that  are  represented  in  this  city 
by  the  sea.  It  has  a  national  and  a  private  bank  ;  good  schools 
and  handsome  school  buildings ;  eight  church  edifiros,  and  all 
the  usual  orders  and  societies ;  two  morning  newspapers  and 
one  evening  journal ;  a  chamber  of  commerce ;  water- works, 
street-car  Mnes,  and  most  of  the  other  accessories  of  modern 
urban  comfort. 

The  imports  of  Astoria  for  eleven  months  in  1889  amounted 
to  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
forty-nine  dollars,  on  which  the  duties  were  forty-two  thousand 
one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  dollars  and  fortj^-five  cents, 
the  heaviest  bill  being  for  tin  plates  used  in  manufacturing  fish- 
cans.  The  value  of  cargoes  of  wheat,  lumber,  fish,  flour,  and 
miscellaneous  exports  shipped  direct  from  Astoria  was  nine 
huvidred  and  thirty-three  thousand  six  hundred  and  ninetj^-eight 
dollai's.  The  arrivals  of  vessels  from  January  1  to  December  1 
numbered  ninety,  with  a  total  tonnage  of  ninety-throe  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  fifty-eight.  The  steamers,  sloops, 
schooners,  barks,  and  ships  owned  in  this  city  number  seventj'-- 
five. 

Within  half  a  dozen  years  about  one  thousand  acres  of  tide- 
land  have  been  reclaimed  by  diking  at  Tansy  Point  on  the 
Clatsop  peninsula,  the  land  proving  immensely  productive,  and 
demonstrating  that  farming  is  not  a  lost  art  on  the  sea-coast. 
Other  similar  improvements  will  undoubtedly  follow,  giving,  in 


NOTES   ON  THE  COLUMBIA   RIVER. 


47 


time,  the  Astoria  of  Oregon  us  beautiful  environments  as  sur- 
round the  Astoria  of  Now  Yorlc. 

Only  last  year  the  first  railroad  from  Astoria  into  the  Wal- 
lamet  Valley  was  commenced.  This  is  the  Astoria  and  South 
.Coast  Eailwiiy,  which  begins  at  the  west  end  of  the  town, 
crosses  Young's  Bay  by  a  bridge  a  mile  and  a  half  in  length, 
and,  running  west  to  Skipanon,  turns  south  along  the  coast  to 
the  seaside  resort  at  Clatsop  Beach,  a  distance  of  eighteen  miles, 
whence  it  takes  a  course  southeast  and  east  to  a  junction  with  the 
Southern  Pacific's  west-side  line  at  Hillsborough,  in  Washington 
County,  which  gives  it  connection  with  trains  for  Portland  or 
for  the  southern  counties  and  San  Francisco ;  or  by  the  Oregon 
Pacific  for  Eastern  Oregon.  This  line  will  be  completed  in 
1891,  being  already  opened  to  Clatsop  Beach.  Another  road 
under  survey  is  the  Albany  and  Astoria  Railroad,  which  is  to 
run  south  along  the  coast  to  Tillamook,  and  thence  southeast 
through  the  west-side  grain-fields  to  Albau}'.  Another  pro- 
jected line  is  the  Salem,  Astoria  and  Eastern,  whose  pet  name 
will  be  the  "  Salem  to  the  Sea  road ;"  while  the  Union  Pacific 
has  indicated  its  intention  of  building  from  Portland  to  Astoria 
along  the  Columbia.  These  are  enterprises  pointing  to  the  ac- 
cession of  groat  shipping  advantages  by  the  city  at  the  mouth 
of  this  great  river  which  must  affect  it  very  advantageously. 


C  H  I: 


ER  V. 


NOTES    ON    THE   COLUMBIA   RIVER.  ' 

The  river  is  the  soul  of  the  land  to  which  it  belonffs.  Frino-inc 
its  banks,  floating  upon  its  waters,  are  the  interests,  the  history, 
and  the  romance  of  the  people.  Our  ideas  of  every  nation  are 
intimately  associated  with  our  ideas  of  its  rivers.  To  mention 
the  name  of  one  is  to  suggest  the  characteristics  of  the  other. 

How  the  word  Euphrates  recalls  the  earliest  ages  of  man's 
history  on  this  globe!  The  Nile  reminds  us  of  a  civilization 
on  which   the  whole  of  Europe  depended   for  whatever  was 


48 


/ 


ATLANTIS    ARISEN. 


oiilightenod  or  refined  anterior  to  the  Christian  era.  The 
Tiber  in  rich  in  histoiic  associations  of  the  proudest  empire  the 
world  over  knew.  What  romances  of  Moorish  ])Ower  and 
splendor  are  conjured  up  by  the  mention  of  the  Guadalquivir! 
The  Ehine  is  so  enwreathed  with  flowers  of  song,  that  the 
actual  history  of  its  battlomentod  towers  is  lost  from  view ;  and 
yet  the  mention  of  its  name  gives  us  a  satisfying  conception  of 
the  ideal  Germany,  past  and  present. 

So  the  Thames,  the  Ehone,  the  Danube,  are  so  many  words 
for  the  English,  the  French,  and  the  Austrian  peoples.  In  our 
own  country,  what  different  ideas  attach  to  Connecticut,  Hudson, 
Savannah,  and  Mississippi !  How  quickly  the  pictures  are 
shifted  in  the  stereoscope  of  imag'  tion  by  changing  Orinoco 
for  San  Joaquin,  Amazon  for  Saci  to,  or  llio  de  la  Plata  for 

Columbia,  upon  our  tongues.  It  ...  uot  that  one  is  longer  or 
shorter,  or  wider  or  deeper,  than  another:  it  is  that  each  con- 
veys a  thought  of  the  country,  the  people,  the  history,  and  the 
commerce  of  its  own  peculiar  region. 

In  comparison  with  other  rivers  of  equal  size  and  geographi- 
cal importance,  the  Columbia  is  little  known.  That  generation 
has  not  yet  passed  away  which  was  taught  that  the  whole  of 
the  Northwest  Territory  was  Oregon,  that  it  had  one  river,  the 
Columbia,  and  one  town,  Portland,  situated  on  the  Columbia. 

Above  Astoria,  for  some  distance,  there  are  no  important 
settlements  on  the  river.  But  the  grandeur  of  the  wooded  high- 
lands, the  frequently  projecting  cliffs  covered  with  forest  to 
their  very  edges,  and  embroidered  and  festooned  with  mosses, 
ferns,  and  vines,  together  with  the  far-stretching  views  of  the 
broad  Columbia,  suffice  to  engage  the  admiring  attention  of  the 
tourist.  In  consequence  of  fires,  which  every  year  spread 
through  and  destroy  large  tracts  of  timber,  the  mountains  in 
many  places  present  a  desolated  appearance,  the  naked  trunks 
alone  of  the  towering  firs  being  left  standing  to  decay.  This 
remark  applies  to  the  north  bank,  on  the  lower  po.tion  of  the 
river,  for  an  archipelago  of  islands  on  the  south  rises  not  far 
above  the  surface  of  the  river,  covered  with  a  luxuriant  growth 
of  trees,  and  in  high  water  the  river  covers  many  miles  of  low 
land. 

Opposite  Puget  Island,  the  largest  of  the  group,  is  Cathlamet, 


NOTES   OX   THE   COLUMBIA    RIVER. 


49 


and 


in  Wasliinpfton,  the  seat  of  govcrnmont  of  AVuhkiaUuni  County, 
und  the  seat  also  of  a  fish-canning  ostablislunonl.  It  is  perchol 
on  a  iiigh  bluif,  and  has  a  small  population. 

Tjio  mountains  approach  tho  river  again  on  both  hides  at  tho 
Nari'ows,  and  opposite  to  the  Oak  Point  of  Captain  Winship  is 
tho  modern  Oak  Point,  which  seems  to  have  borrowed  tho  name, 
and  shifted  it  to  the  Washington  side.  Tho  namo  is  pretty  and 
distinctive,  and  ought  never  to  be  changed,  as  it  marks  the 
western  boundary  of  tlie  oak-treo  in  Oregon  and  Washington. 
Between  this  and  the  sea  not  an  oak-tree  grows.  The  only 
business  at  or  about  Oak  Point  is  that  of  tho  fisheries  already 
mentioned,  and  a  lumbering  establishment  erected  in  18'48-49. 
It  is  run  by  v  ter-power,  and  capable  of  manufacturing  four 
million  feet  annually. 

About  ten  miles  above  Oak  Point  we  come  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Cowlitz  Kiver.  Just  below  it  is  a  high,  conical  hill,  known 
as  Mount  Coffin.  This  eminence,  ttgother  with  Coffin  Rock, 
seven  miles  above,  on  the  Oregon  side,  formed  the  burial-places 
of  the  Indians  of  .his  vicinity  before  the  settlement  of  the 
country  by  wliites.  Here  tho  dead  were  deposUed  in  canoes, 
well  wrapped  up  in  mats  or  blankets,  with  their  most  valuable 
property  beside  tliem,  and  their  domestic  utensils  nung  upon 
the  posts  which  supported  their  unique  coffins.  Wilkes  relates 
in  his  journal  how  his  men  accidentally  set  fire  to  the  under- 
brush on  Mount  Coffin,  causing  t\  number  of  the  ciinoes  to  be 
consumed,  to  the  grief  and  horror  of  the  Indians,  who  would 
have  avenged  the  insult  had  they  not  been  convinced  of  its 
accidental  occurrence. 

The  Cowlitz  is  a  small  river,  though  navigable  for  twenty 
miles  when  the  water  is  high  enough,  and  about  half  that  dis- 
tance at  all  times.  It  rises  in  Mount  St.  Helen,  and  runs  west- 
wardly  for  some  distance,  when  it  turns  abruptly  to  the  south. 
The  valley  of  the  Cowlitz  is  small,  being  not  more  than  twenty 
miles  long  and  four  or  five  wide.  It  is  heavily  timbered,  except 
for  a  few  miles  above  its  mouth,  where  the  rich  alluvial  bottom- 
lands are  cleared  and  cultivated.  No  finer  soil  could  possibly 
exist  than  this  in  tho  Cowlitz  Valley.  In  1838  the  town  of 
Monticello,  four  miles  from  the  Columbia,  was  all  swept  away 
in  a  flood.     It  has  been  replaced  by  a  fresher  edition  of  its 


60 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


irHi 

M   11:1 


ii! 


14 


m 


former  self,  however,  and  looks  as  cheerful  and  ambitious  as  if 
it  '-inew  there  could  be  no  second  deluge. 

This  portion  of  the  Cowlitz  Valley  does  not  depend  alone 
upon  its  fertility  for  its  iuture  importance.  Th^ve  are  extensive 
deposits  of  coal  in  the  mountains  which  border  the  river,  besides 
other  mii;eral  deposits  which  an  increase  of  population  will 
eventually  bring  into  notice.  There  is,  too,  a;)  almost  inex- 
haustible supply  of  the  finest  fir  and  cedai  upon  the  mountains 
which  hem  it  in.  The  river,  as  might  be  conjectured,  is  &  rapid 
stream,  and  cold  from  the  snows  of  St.  Ile'en.  Its  waters  in 
summer,  when  the  snows  are  melting  rapidly,  are  white,  from 
being  mixed  with  volcanic  nshes,  or  some  disintegrated  infusorial 
marl  or  chalk. 

So  disguised  in  a  luxuriance  of  trees  ar.d  shrubbery  is  the 
mouth  of  the  Cowlitz  that,  when  we  are  in  the  open  Columbia, 
we  can  scarcely  detect  the  place  of  our  exit  from  it.  <  rossing 
over  to  the  Oregon  side,  we  find  ourselves  at  Eainier,  where 
lumber  is  manufactured,  chiefly  for  export.  The  location  of 
Rainier  is,  in  many  respects,  fine;  but,  at  prosont,  there  seems 
10  be  little  besides  the  lumber  trade  to  give  it  business,  though 
there  are  a  few  excellent  farm>.  in  the  vicinity.  Along  here,  on 
the  Oregon  side,  is  a  tract  01  level  land,  extending  back  from 
the  Columbia  for  some  distance.  It  answ  i  to  the  depression 
of  the  Cowlitz  Valley;  and  it  is  remarkf  uie  that,  wherever  a 
stream  comes  into  the  Columbia  largo  enough  to  be  said  to  have 
a  valley,  there  is  on  the  opposite  side  a  i.^eak  in,  or  a  curvature 
of,  the  highlands,  making  more  or  less  level  country  facing  the 
valley  perpondicular  to  it,  so  that  the  valleys  of  tlie  streams 
may  be  soid  to  cross  the  Columbia,  and,  even,  to  be  widest  on 
the  opposite  side.  Somewhere  in  here  on  the  Oregon  side  is  the 
Klaskanie,  a  stream  with  a  fertile  and  cultivated  valley  on  its 
head-waters,  the  mouth  of  the  stream  being  far  down  the  river, 
opposite  Cathlemet. 

Advancing  scvorai  miles,  we  find  ourselves  abi'cast  of  Kalama, 
on  the  >Vashington  side,  the  initial  point  of  the  Portland  branch 
of  tho  Northern  Pacific  Railroad.  Here  it  was  that  first  the 
silent  grandeur  of  the  Columbia  was  made  vocal  with  the  shriek 
of  "resonant  steam  es-gles"  that  speed  from  ocean  to  ocean, 
bearing  the  good-will  of  the  nations  of  the  world  in  bales  of 


NOTES   ON   THE  COLUMBIA    RIVER. 


51 


merchandise.  It  is  the  dream  of  JeiFerson  and  Benton  realized 
— only  could  the  latter  have  had  his  wish  fulfilled  to  live  until 
this  day!  ;;    ,;      : -.    A;      .-. 

"In  conclusion  I  have  to  assure  you,  that  the  same  spirit 
which  has  made  me  the  friend  of  Oregon  for  thirty  years — 
which  led  me  to  denounce  the  Joint  Occupation  Treaty  the  day 
it  was  made,  and  to  oppose  its  renewal  in  1828,  and  to  labor  for 
its  abrogation  until  it  was  terminated ;  the  same  spii'it  which 
led  me  to  reveal  the  grand  destiny  of  Oregon  in  articles  written 
in  1818,  and  to  support  every  measure  for  her  benefit  since — 
ti)i8  same  spirit  still  animates  me,  and  will  continue  to  do  so  . 
while  I  live — which  I  hope  will  be  lono  enough  to  see  an 
EMPORIUM  OP  Asiatic  commercs  at  the  mouth  op  your  river, 

AND  A    STREAM   OP  ASIATIC   TRADE    POURING    INTO    THE  VaLLEY  OP 

the  Mississippi  through  the  channel  op  Oregon." — Letter  of 
Benton  to  the  People  of  Oregon,  in  1847. 

But,  Benton  did  not  understand  the  geography  of  the  coast; 
neither  did  he  know  much  of  the  practical  working  of  railroads 
in  recognizing  or  ignoring  any  points  but  their  own.  He  did 
not  foresee  the  Central  Pacific  going  to  San  Francisco,  and  the 
Northern  Pacific  to  Puget  Sound,  and  an  emporium  of  Asiatic 
commerce  at  either  of  these  termini,  while  a  third  great  city 
distributed  commerce  along  the  Columbia  and  its  tributaries, 
from  its  mouth  to  its  sources. 

Twelve  miles  above  Kalama  the  Cathlapootle  or  Lewis  Eivor 
enters  the  CoJumbia.  Like  the  Cowlitz,  it  rises  in  Mount  St. 
Helen,  and  is  a  colH  and  rapid  stream.  Opening  within  a  few 
hundred  feet  from  tiie  mouth  of  Lewis  is  Lake  Eiver,  not  born 
of  mountain  gla^  .ord,  but  coming  from  a  lake  in  the  vicinity  of 
Vancouver.  It  ,"s  fed  also  by  a  creek  from  a  high  source  which 
runs  parallel  with  the  South  Fork  of  Lewis  Eiver.  Between 
tho  latter  and  the  Columbia,  to  Avhich  it  runs  nearly  parallel  for 
a  few  miles,  is  a  stretch  of  bottom-land,  and,  according  to  the 
rule  I  have  laid  down,  the  highlands  recede  on  the  Oregon  side, 
giving  room  for  two  towns,  Columbia  (  ily  and  St.  Helen,  both 
occupying  excellent  sites,  but  never  having  n«ade  the  progress 
which  might  justly  be  expected  of  them.  At  this  latter  point, 
it  is  said,  Wyeth  had  his  fort  and  trading  house  in  1834,  from 
which  it  was  called  "  Wyeth's  Eock"  until  it  was  settled  upon,  a 


]U    I 


62 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


i 


dozen  years  later,  by  H.  M.  Knighton,  to  whom  it  was  patented 
by  the  United  States.  In  the  earlj^  years  of  the  Pacific  Mail 
Steamship  Company,  this  great  corporation  owned  a  wharf  at 
St.  Helen,  and  stopped  its  steamers  there ;  but  the  exigencies  of 
commerce  at  that  period  compelled  them  to  go  to  Portland. 

Just  above  this  place  lies  Sauve  Island,  about  eighteen  miles 
long  by  six  broad  in  the  widest  part ;  having  on  one  side  of  it 
the  Columbia,  and  on  the  other  one  lower  Wallamet  Kiver,  which 
is  known  as  the  '•  Columbia  Slough."  At  the  junction  of  these 
two  rivers  is  an  inlet  called  Scappoose  Bay,  extending  back 
towards  the  high  hills  a  distance  of  seven  miles,  and  navigable 
by  small  boats  for  that  distance,  but  for  sailing  vessels  only  two 
or  three  miles.  In  1851-52  a  town  named  Milton  was  laid  out 
on  the  low  land  adjacent  to  Scappoose  Bay  by  a  company  of 
sea-captains.  The  first  summer  flood  in  the  Columbia  showed 
them  their  mistake,  driving  the  inhabitants  to  the  high  bluff 
behind  Wyeth's  Eock.  Not  a  vestige  of  Milton  remains  at  this 
da}',  and  most  of  its  projectors  are  gone  the  way  of  all  the 
earth. 

'■  It  should  have  been  mentioned  that  the  Columbia,  at  about 
the  mouth  of  the  Cowlitz,  sixty  miles  from  the  sea,  makes  a 
decided  bend,  running  from  the  upper  end  of  Sauve  Island  to 
this  point  in  a  northerly  course.  The  Wallamet  has  its  upper 
mouth  at  the  head  of  this  island,  entering  the  Columbia,  where 
it  makes  another  bend,  the  course  of  the  river  being  in  a  gen- 
eral east  and  west  direction  for  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles 
above  this  point. 

Passing  the  entrance  to  the  Wallamet,  we  observe  that  the 
before-mentioned  rule  holds  good  here,  and  that  the  wide  and 
fertile  valley  of  this  river  seems  to  cross  over  to  the  Washington 
side,  the  flat  country  on  both  sides  of  the  Columbia  continuing 
from  the  lower  mouth  of  the  Wallamet  to  the  foot-hills  of  the 
Cascades  which  border  the  great  valley  on  the  east.  Though 
this  level  country  is  now  covered  with  timber,  it  must,  from  its 
alluvial  nature,  when  cleared,  prove  very  excellent  farming 
land.  That  portion  of  it  nearest  the  river  is  subject  to  the 
annual  ovei'flow ;  but  there  is  no  difticulty  in  determining  the 
limits  of  submersion,  for,  wherever  fir-trees  are  found,  there  the 
high-water  never  comes. 


NOTES   ON   THE   COLUMBIA   RIVER. 


53 


patented 
ific  Mail 
vharf  at 
encies  of 
and. 

3en  miles 

iide  of  it 

r,  which 

of  these 

ng  back 

lavigable 

only  two 

laid  out 

npany  of 

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igh  bluff 

ns  at  this 

)£  all  the 

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,  makes  a 

Island  to 

its  upper 
bia,  where 

in  a  gen- 
jhty  miles 

that  the 

wide  and 

ashington 

ontinuing 

ills  of  the 

Though 

b,  from  its 

I   farming 

ct  to  the 

ining  the 

there  the 


At  a  distance  of  about  six  miles  above  the  Wallamct  we 
come  to  the  town  of  Vancouver,  on  the  Washington  side.  This 
place  is  beautifully  si  treated  on  a  sloiiing  plain,  with  a  strip  of 
velvety-looking  meadow  land  on  its  river-front.  It  is  the  old 
head-quarters  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  Oregon,  wher  ^ 
resided,  for  more  than  t\venty-fivo  years,  the  governor  and 
chief  factors  of  that  company,  nominally  holding  "joint  posses- 
sion," with  the  United  States,  of  the  whole  Oregon  Territory, 
out  really,  for  the  greater  portion  of  that  time,  holding  it  alone. 

Here  lived  in  bachelorhood,  or  with  wives  of  Indian  descent, 
a  little  colony  of  educated  and  refined  men,  who,  by  the  condi- 
tions of  their  servitude  to  the  London  Company,  were  forced 
to  lead  a  life  of  almost  monastic  seclusion.  True,  it  happened 
sometimes  that  naturalists,  adventurous  tmvellers,  and  others 
drifted  to  this  comfortable  haven  in  the  wilderness,  and  by  their 
talk  made  a  liltle  variety  for  the  recluses;  and  very  hospitable 
the}'  found  them— reany  to  provide  every  civilized  luxury  their 
fort  contained,  ^''ihont  money  and  withouL  price,  so  long  as  it 
pleased  their  g  to  abide  with  them. 

There  are  few  traces  remaining  of  the  old.  stockaded  fort. 
When  the  British  conij)any  ibandoned  it  the  I  nitod  States  gov- 
ernment took  possession  of  Vnicouver  i'<  v  a  military  post;  and 
now  the  tourist  beholds,  scaiiored  over  ihe  plain,  a  thriving 
town  of  two  thousand  inhabitants,  and  border  ig  on  it  the  well- 
kept  garrison  groufids  of  the  troops,  -ith  neuL  officers'  quarters 
encircling  the  parade.  Vancouver;  he  seat  of  govei-nment  of 
Clarke  County,  and  possesses  many  advantages,  which  are  to  be 
brought  more  prominently  to  light  by  raili-oad  communication 
with  the  Puget  Sound  region  and  F-a-^*  ■■  ;i  Washington  in  the 
near  future.  The  Union  Pacific  (  ..pany  will  soon  unite 
Washington  and  Oregon,  at  this  point,  b};-  a  steel  bridge  whose 
estimated  cost  reaches  into  the  millions. 

Above  Vancouver,  for  a  distance  of  twenty  miles,  there  are 
many  beautiful  situations  all  along  on  the  Washington  side, 
though  the  country  is  timbered  heavily.  The  southern  shore  is 
lower :  the  Sandy — a  stream  coming  down  from  Mount  Hood 
— having  its  entrance  into  the  Columbia  above  and  opposite 
Vancouver,  through  alluvial,  sandy  bottoms.  Beyond  this  the 
whole  surface  of  the  country  becomes   elevated,  and  we  are 


54 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


among  the  .oot-hills  of  the  Caacade  Mountains.  Not  a  mile 
of  the  passage  has  appeared  monotonous  from  Astoria  to  this 
poiht.  We  have  enjoyed  river,  forest,  mountains,  and  snow- 
peaks,  with  little  intervals  of  human  interest,  all  along;  and 
enjoyed  these  in  abso'ute  comfort,  for  the  steamboat  service  on 
the  Columbia  is  excellent,  thanks  to  the  original  Oregon  Steam 
Navigation  Company,  and  its  successor^^. 

^  We  arrive  now  at  what  the  tourist  must  ever  regard  as  the 
most  interesting  portion  of  the  liver — the  gorge  of  the  Colum- 
bia. Here  wonder,  curiosity,  and  admiration  combine  to  arouse 
sentiments  of  awe  and  delight  in  the  beholder.  Entering  by 
the  lower  end  of  the  gorge,  we  commence  the  passage,  of  fifty 
miles  or  more,  directly  through  the  solid  mountain  range  of  the 
Cascades.  The  snow-peaks,  which  looked  so  lofty  at  the  dis- 
tance of  eighty  miles,  as  we  approach  them  gradually  sink  into 
the  mountain  mass,  until  we  lose  sight  of  them  entirely.  The 
river  narrows,  and  the  scenery  grows  more  and  more  wild  and 
magnificent. 

Fantastic  forms  of  rock — some  with  nfuucs  by  which  they 
can  be  recognized — begin  to  atti-act  our  attention.  Crow's 
Eoost  is  a  single,  detached  rock  on  the  right,  which  time  and 
weather  are  slowly  wearing  down  to  the  "  needle"  shape,  so 
common  among  the  trappean  formations.  It  stands  with  its 
feet  in  the  river,  at  the  extremity  of  a  heavily-wooded  point ; 
and  in  the  crevices  about  its  base,  and  half-way  up,  good-sized 
firs  are  growing.  Above  the  Crow's  Eoost  the  mountains  tower 
higher  and  higher.  Frequently  from  lofty  ledges  and  terraces 
of  rock  silvery  ivater-falls  are  seen  descending,  hundreds  of  feet, 
to  some  basin  hidden  by  intervening  curtains  of  wooded  ridges. 
From  the  steamer's  deck  they  look  like  mere  ribbons ;  some  of 
them,  indeed,  are  dashed  into  invisible  spray  before  they  reach 
the  bottom. 

One  of  the  handsomest  of  these  is  Multnomah  Fall,  which 
has  a  straight  descent  of  several  hundred  feet  to  a  pool  sui'- 
rounded  by  mosses,  ferns,  and  droopint'  foliage,  after  which  the 
stream  hastens  impetuously  to  a  seconri  plut-ge  over  a  ledge  of 
rock,  and  speeds  on  to  the  Columbia.  A  rustic  bridge  spans  the 
torrent  just  above  the  lo\ver  fall.  Somebody  more  given  to 
ponies  than  to  poetry,  has  named  one  of  the  highest  of  these 


NOTES  ON   THE   COLUMBIA   RIVER. 


55 


a  mile 
to  this 
d  snow- 
tig  ;  and 
iviee  on 
n  Steam 

d  as  the 
Colum- 
;o  arouse 
3ring  by 
,  of  fifty 
je  of  the 

the  dis- 
sink  into 
ly.  The 
vild  and 

icli  they 
Crow's 
ime  and 
hape,  so 
Avith  its 
d  point ; 
)od-8ized 
lis  tower 
terraces 
s  of  feet, 
i  ridges, 
some  of 
}y  reach 

1,  which 
ool  sur- 
bich  the 
ledge  of 
)ans  the 
;iven  to 
of  these 


Cascade  falls  Horse-tail ;  and  another  has  the  rather  hackneyed 
name  of  Bridal  Veil,  which,  of  coarse,  it  does  not  in  the  least 
resemble. 

Above  Multnomah  Fall,  on  the  Washington  side,  is  a  high, 
precipitous  wall  of  needle-pointed,  reddish  rock,,  coming  quite 
down  to  the  river,  and  curving  in  a  rounded  face,  so  as  to  form 
a  little  bay  above.  This  is  the  Cape  Horn  of  the  lower  Colum- 
bia— a  point  where  the  Wind  Spirit  lies  in  wait  for  canoes  and 
other  small  craft,  keeping  them  weather-bound  for  days  to- 
gether. Fine  as  it  is  steaming  up  the  Columbia  in  July  weather, 
there  are  times  when  storms  of  wind  and  sand  make  the  voyage 
impossible  to  any  but  a  steam-propelled  vessel.  It  is  at  our 
peril  that  we  invade  the  grand  sanctuaries  of  Nature  in  her 
winter  moods.  The  narrow  channel  of  the  river  among  the 
mountains,  the  height  of  the  overhanging  cliffs, — which  confine 
the  wind  as  in  a  funnel, — and  the  changes  of  temperature  to 
which,  even  in  summer,  mountaii-  localities  are  subject,  make 
this  a  stormy  passage  at  some  periods  of  the  year. 

Sitting  out  upon  the  steamer's  deck,  of  a  summer  morning, 
we  ai'e  not  much  troubled  with  visions  of  storms :  the  scene  is 
as  peaceful  as  it  is  magnificent.  Steaming  ahead,  straight  into 
the  heart  of  the  mountains,  where  they  rise  to  a  height  of  four 
thousand  feet,  each  moment  affords  a  fresh  delight  to  the  won- 
dering senses.  The  panorama  of  grandeur  and  beauty  seemn 
endless.  As  we  approach  the  lower  end  of  the  rapids,  we  find 
that  at  the  left  the  heights  recede  and  enclose  a  strip  of  level, 
sandy  land,  in  the  midst  of  which  stands  a  solitary  shaft  of 
basalt  called  Castle  Rock,  about  six  hundred  feet  in  altitude. 
How  it  came  there,  is  the  question  which  the  beholder  first 
asks  himself,  but  which,  so  far,  has  never  been  satisfactorily 
answered. 

A  mile  or  two  beyond  Castle  Rock,  situated  on  this  bit  of 
warm,  sandy  bottom-land,  on  the  Washington  side,  is  the  little 
mountain  hamlet  known  as  the  Lower  Cascades.  Why  it  is 
that  one  name  is  made  to  serve  for  so  many  objects,  in  the  same 
locality,  must  ever  puzzle  the  tourist  in  Oregon.  At  the  Cas- 
cades the  tautology  threatens  to  overwhelm  us  in  perplexity. 
Not  only  is  it  the  Cascade  Range,  which  the  cascades  of  the 
river  cut  in  twain,  but  there  are  no  less  than  three  points  on 


56 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


the  north  side,  within  a  distance  of  six  miles,  known  as  the 
Lower,  Middle,  and  Upper  Cascades.  Pretty  as  the  name  is, 
we  weary  of  it  when  it  is  continually  in  our  mouths. 

It  is  a  pretty  spot,  too,  this  Lower  Cascades,  surrounded  by 
majestic  mounJ;ains,  and  bordered  by  a  foaming  river;  charm- 
ingly nestled  in  thickets  of  blossoming  shrubbery,  and  can 
regale  its  guests  on  strawbei-ries  and  mountain-trout.  Here  the 
Oregon  Eailway  and  Navigation  Company  has  a  wharf  and 
warehouse,  and  here  we  take  our  seats  in  the  cars  which  trans- 
fer us  to  the  Upper  Cascades,  and  another  steamer.  We  find 
the  change  agreeable,  as  a  change,  anJ  enjoy  intensely  the 
glimpses  of  the  rapids  we  are  passing,  and  the  wonderful  luxu- 
riance of  vegetation  on  every  side,  coupled  with  the  grandeur 
of  the  towering  mountains. 

At  the  Upper  Cascades  is  a  block-house,  reminding  us  of  the 
Indian  war  of  1855-56,  and  another  one  about  the  middle  rapids. 
The  scene  looks  peaceful  enough  now  to  make  the  history  of 
these  forts  seem  very  legendary. 

Aside  from  scenic  features,  there  is  a  great  deal  to  interest 
one  at  this  place.  One  object  of  cui-iosity  and  surprise  is  the 
immense  wheels  for  taking  salmon,  A  wheel  is  generally  forty 
feet  in  diameter,  and  eight  feet  from  disk  to  disk.  In  place  of 
paddles,  there  are  three  buckets  or  pouches  of  strong  wire 
screening.  The  wheel,  attached  to  a  shaft,  may  be  raised  or 
lowered  at  the  will  of  the  operator;  and  the  buckets  are  so  con- 
structed that  whatever  enters  them  is  thrown  to  the  centre  of 
the  wheel,  whore  an  opening  above  water-lino  delivers  them 
into  a  large  tank..  Each  bucket,  when  fish  are  running  well, 
will  turn  into  the  tank  seventy-five  fish  per  minute,  or  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty  five  for  one  wheel  every  sixty  seconds.  As  a 
wheel  is  kept  going  quite  constantly  through  the  season,  and  as 
there  are  about  two  dozen  of  them  in  motion  on  the  river,  we 
have  an  opportunity  to  exercise  our  arithmetical  skill  in  esti- 
mating the  quantity  of  salmon  taken  by  this  method  every 
season. 

The  rapids  at  the  Cascades  are  five  miles  in  length,  and  the 
fall  of  the  river  is  about  sixty  feet,  the  bed  of  the  stream  being 
formerly  choked  up  with  rock  in  such  a  manner  as  to  suggest 
recent  volcanic  agency.     The  government  has  expended  some 


NOTES   ON   THE   COLUMBIA   KIVEK. 


57 


money  iu  removing  the  obstructions  below  tiie  Middle  Cascades, 
and  a  very  large  amount  is  being  annually  laid  out  in  construct- 
ing a  ship  canal  three  thousand  feet  long  around  the  upper 
rapids.  This  artificial  channel,  which  is  "  making  haste  slowly," 
is  a  fine  si^ecimen  of  engineering  skill,  and  a  solid  piece  of  work. 
When  completed  it  will  remove  the  now  existing  monopoly  of 
this  mo  intain  pass,  allowing  boats  to  ascend  and  descend  with- 
out rosliipmcnt  of  cargoes. 

One  of  the  natural  wonders  of  the  gorge  of  the  Columbia  on  the 
Oregon  side  is  a  moving  mountain.  This  is  a  mass  of  basalt,  with 
three  peaks,  extending  six  or  more  miles  along  the  river,  and^ 
rising  two  thousand  feet  above  it.  Its  motion  is  not  perceptible 
but  it  is  certain.  It  slides  both  forward  into  the  river,  and 
downward  towards  the  sea.  In  its  forward  movement  it  has 
carried  below  the  surface  of  the  Columbia  a  tract  of  timbered 
shore,  the  trees  on  which  long  ago  wei'e  killed  by  submergence, 
and  stand  dark  and  naked  under  the  water,  or  when  the  river 
is  low,  projecting  above  it.  The  Oregon  Eailway  and  Naviga- 
^'  .ailroad,  which  is  carried  along  the  side  of  this  mountain, 
ib  auable  to  keep  its  track  in  situ  owing  to  this  movement,  the 
road-bed  and  rails  having  in  some  places  been  pushed,  in  a  few 
years,  eight  or  ten  feet  out  of  line.  The  explanation  of  this 
phenomenon  is  supposed  to  be  that  the  great  bulk  of  basalt 
which  constitutes  the  mountain  was  poured  out  upon  a  sub- 
stratum of  conglomerate,  or  softer  subrock,  which  is  being 
blowly  disintegrated  by  the  action  of  the  current  of  the  Colum- 
bia, or  is  yielding  to  the  mighty  pressure  upon  it  from  above,  or 
possibly  both.  The  lateral  movement  is  explained  in  a  similar 
inannei",  by  the  concave  shape  of  the  rock  foundation  of  the 
country  to  the  west,  and  the  yielding  of  the  overlying  softer 
strata. 

From  the  deck  of  the  steamer  waiting  for  us  at  the  end  of 
the  railroad  portage,  a  beautiful  picture  is  spread  out  on  every 
side.  The  river  seems  a  lake  dotted  with  islands,  with  low 
shores,  surrounded  by  mountain  walls.  Almost  the  first  thing 
which  strikes  the  eye  is  an  immensely  high  and  bold,  perpen- 
dicular cliiT  of  red  rock,  pointed  at  top  with  the  regularity  of 
a  pyramid,  and  looking  as  if  freshly  split  off  from  some  other 
half  which   has  totally  disappeared.     The  freshly-broken  ap- 


58 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


pearanco  of  this  cliff,  so  different  from  the  worn  and  mossy 
faces  of  most  of  the  roclts  that  border  the  river,  suijgested  to 
the  savage  one  of  his  legends  concerning  the  formation  of  the 
Cascades:  which  is,  that  Mount  Hood  and  Mount  Adams  had 
a  quarrel,  and  took  to  throwing  fire-stones  at  each  other;  and, 
with  their  rage  and  struggling,  so  shook  the  earth  for  many 
miles  around  that  a  bridge  of  rock  which  spanned  the  river  at 
this  place  was  torn  from  its  mountain  abutments,  and  cast  in 
fragments  into  the  river.  So  closely  does  legend  sometimes 
border  on  scientific  fact! 

While  I  am  making  this  grave  reflection  upon  the  scientific 
ti'uth  of  legends,  some  one  presents  me  with  a  story,  in  rhyii.e, 
which  he  assures  me  is  the  true,  original  Indian  legend  of  the 
formation  of  those  other  notable  points  on  the  river, — the  Dalles, 
Horse-tail  Falls,  Crow's  Eoost,  as  also  the  Falls  of  the  Wallamet 
and  Mount  Hood.  Making  all  due  allowance  for  poetic  license 
in  some  of  the  details,  the  story  and  the  manner  of  its  telling 
are  worthy  of  notice;  and  I  give  it  as  a  pleasing  chapter  of  the 
early,  romantic  history  of  this  romantic  country  ! 

THE  SONG  OF  KAMIAKIN. 

Should  you  ask  me  where  I  caught  it —  '         . 

Caught  this  flame  and  inspiration — 

Should  you  ask  me  where  I  got  it — 

Got  this  old  and  true  tradition —  •    :,     . 

I  would  answer,  I  would  tell  you :  •        , 

Where  the  virgins  of  the  forest  ... 

Sit  with  quills  thrust  through  their  noses, 

Eating  calmly  cricket  hashes ; 

Where  the  tar-head  maid  reposes ; 

Where  the  proud  Columbia  dashes. 

Hearing  nothing  but  his  dashing. 

Hias  skookum*  Kamiakin, 

Of  the  vale  of  Klikatata — 

Which  I  know  each  nook  and  track  in 

As  well  as  Johnny  knew  his  daddy — 

Was  the  chief  of  all  the  Siwash, 

And  the  great  high-cockalorem — 

As  his  fathers  were  before  him — 


*  Great,  strong. 


I 


3) 
> 

X 

o 

> 
o 

z 
o 

r- 
Z 
n 

> 

H 

H 
I 

n 

o 

> 

CO 

o 

> 
o 
m 

09 


i:5 


n 


NOTES   ON   THE  COLUMBIA   RIVEU, 

Of  the  winding  Wullametta, 
Which  I  sing— and  »ay  it  surely 
As  the  jingling  Juniata 
Sounds  ft9  well ;  but  'tis  unpretty, 
Poets  of  the  sunset  sea-rim 
Flying  off  to  Acropolis — 
Very  absurd  it  is,  and  silly — 
While  the  glassy  Umatilla, 
And  the  classic  Longus  Thomas, 
And  the  grassy  Tuda-Willa, 
All  do  flush  and  flow  before  us. 


59 


>■:!• 


Well,  my  hero  Kamiakin 
Was  in  love ;  you  know  such  folly 
Must  go  in,  or  something's  lacking 
In  all  great,  good  rhymes  emetic. 
Now,  she  dwelt  in  Walla  Walla ; 
But  her  ma  was  awful  stuck  up ; 
And  her  pious  dad,  ascetic, 
'Gainst  our  hero  got  his  back  up ; 
And  he  swore  on  stacks  of  Bibles, 
Higher  than  the  hay  you  stack  up, 
He  would  sue  for  breaches,  libels ; 
He  would  sue  him,  shoot  him,  boot  him- 
That,  in  fact,  he  didn't  suit  him— 
Didn't  vote  the  proper  ticket. 


ii 


II 


Now,  it  cost  him  like  the  nation 
Going  from  the  land  of  cider 
(You  know  how  these  Navigation 
Fellows  charge  a  horse  and  rider) ; 
And,  though  he  was  law-abiding, 
To  be  treated  thus  about  her 
He  declared  was  rather  binding, 
And  that  he  wouldn't  go  without  her. 
So  he  strode  a  cayuse  charger 
With  white  eyes,  also  white  as 
Foam  of  creamy,  dreamy  lager 
From  her  nostrils  to  her  caudle ; 
With  a  woolly  sheepskin  folding 
Back  behind  his  jockey  saddle, 
Where  the  girl  could  ride  by  holding. 


60 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


"  Come  back,  come  back,  O  Pickaninny- 
Back  across  the  stormy  water," 
Cried  the  old  man,  like  a  ninny. 
One  hand  skewed  her  water-fall  up. 
While  the  other  held  her  garter, 
As  they  set  off  at  a  gallop. 
Oh  I  she  looked  majestic,  very. 
As  she  answered,  "  Nury,  nary  I" 
And  the  river  so  is  flowing,     . 
Though  wider  washed  a  foot  or  so. 
For  this  was  in  the  gleaming,  glowing, 
Gilded,  golden  long-ago. 


Then  they  fled  far  down  the  river, 
But  the  old  man  came  upon  them. 
And  she  cried,  "  O  Lord,  deliver  I" 
And  she  blew  a  silver  trumpet. 
And  she  cried,  "  0  hiac— jump  it," 
Till  the  cay  use  jumped  the  river — 
Jumped  the  awful  yawning  chasms — 
With  the  lovers  both  astride  her.      •  ' 
Ah,  enough  to  throw  in  spasms 
Belles  of  this  sweet  land  of  cider  I 
But  the  daddy,  hot  and  snarling 
At  the  chief  and  chieftain's  darling, 
Hip  and  thigh  smote  with  his  sabre. 
While  the  cuitan  was  crossing, 
And  her  silver  tail  was  tossing ; 
And  her  long  tail,  white  and  shaggy, 
Cleft  where  Tam  O'Shanter's  carlin 
Caught  the  tail  of  faithful  Maggie. 


And  that  horse-tail  still  is  flowing 
From  the  dark  rim  of  the  river, 
Drifting,  shifting,  flowing,  going. 
Like  a  veil  or  vision  flurried. 
But  is  never  combed  or  curried, 
As  a  body  can  diskiver. 
Then  while  dad  on  the  piazza 
Read  the  latest  act  of  Andy, 
And  the  maid  on  her  piano 
Trilled  a  ditty  for  some  dandy, 


m 


!J 


NOTES  ON  THE  COLUMBIA    RIVER. 

'  Chftco,  chaco,  cumtux  mikii?"* 

From  afar  in  tones  coyote. 

"  All,  you  bet  you,  cumtux  nika,"t 

Sung  the  maiden  Hotto  voce. 

With  this  Hign  the  cliieftain  sought  her, 

For  the  old  man's  bull-dog  Towzer 

Would  have  made  it  rather  hot  for 

Kamiakin,  Thane  of  Chowder. 

Night  and  day  they  flew  like  arrows. 

Till  they  passed  by  sweet  Celilo  : 

"  Bully,"  cried  the  chief;  "  tomollo's 

Sun  will  see  us  bias  lolo."t 

But  the  old  man  missed  his  daughter; 

Vowing  he  would  catch  and  score  them, 

Took  the  steamer,  and  by  water 

Reached  the  Dalles  the  day  before  them. 

"  Stop,  you  bummer,"  yelled  the  dadily 
While  the  chief  fled  to  the  river ; 
And  the  dad  pursued,  and  had  a       • 
Henry-rifle,  bow  and  quiver. 
Then  the  chief  wished  him  a  beaver- 
Big  or  little,  didn't  mind  him— 
But  the  gal,  would  you  believe  her, 
Stuck  like  wax,  tight  on  behind  him. 
Then  she  waved  a  wand  of  willow. 
And  behold  the  mighty  river 
(For  the  maiden  was  a  fairy)  '      . 

All  did  surge  and  shake  and  shiver, 
Till  the  banks  did  kiss,  or  nearly, 
And  confine  the  foaming  billow ; 
So  they  crossed  without  a  ferry. 

"Verbum  sat.,"  now  yelled  the  daughter, 

As  she  with  her  lover  vamosed  ; 

And  the  dad  sat  in  the  water 

'Till  he  chilled  and  died,  and  so  was 

Turned  to  stone  forever  after. 

Now  this  dad  a  noble  Crow  was, 

And  a  chief  of  fame  and  power, 


61 


I' 


*  Come,  come,  do  you  understand  me  ? 
1 1  understand  you.  t  ^^^  away. 


62 


AT7ANTIS   ARISEN. 


And  is  known  unto  this  hour 

As  the  "  Crow-Rock"  or  the  "  Crow-Roost." 

Well,  they  tra"ened  in  a  canter 
'Till  they  reached  the  sweet  Wallamet, 
And  cried,  "  Boatman,  do  not  tarry ; 
We  will  give  three  pound  of  salmon 
If  you'll  row  us  o'er  the  ferry." 
But  he  answered,  "  Nary,  nary." 
Then  the  maiden  cried  oul,  "'  Dam  it," 
And  the  stream  was  dammed  instanter. 

So  the  chieftain  reached  his  nation, 

And  liis  mother  jave  a  party — 

Gave  a  July  celehratioii — 

And  they  dinnered  very  hearty. 

All  on  kouse  and  salraon  smoky, 

And  then  danced  the  hoky-poky. 

But  her  troubles  grew  the  thicker, 

As  in  truth  so  did  the  maiden. 

For  the  chief  began  to  lick  her, 

And  distract  her  with  upbraiding; 

But  she  had  to  grin  and  bear  it. 

For  the  gods  had  got  so  mad,  they 

Said  she  never  should  repass  the 

Place  slie  left  her  dear  old  daddy. 

So  she  went  up  in  the  hill-tops 

At  the  head  of  the  Molalk, 

For  to  look  at  Walla  Walh-, ; 

And  by  magic  spells  and  lioo-doo — 

For,  you  kn'^v,  she  was  a  foiry — 

She  did  mana^*-  soon  to  rear  a 

Mountain  like  the  pile  of  Cheops. 

And  Jiwaah,  who  saw  her  mamiKuk,* 

Called  the  peak  "Old  Mountain  Hoo-doo." 

But  there  camt  a  Jewish  peddler, 

Packing  head-g^  ar,  hoods,  and  small  t'ings 

(Says  the  Alma.iac  McCormick), 

And  who  didn't  care  three  fardings 

For  this  dear  aad  true  tradition — 

As  the  learned  lilre  uie  and  y  .^u  do — 

And  made  the  gross  abbreviation 

Of  Mount  Hood  from  Mountain  Hoo-doo. 


^ 


NOTES   ON   THE   COLUMBIA   RIVER. 


63 


Turning  from  this  bit  of  pleasantry  with  a  smile,  I  am  again 
absorbed  in  the  beauty  and  majesty  of  the  Columbia.  The 
Hudson,  which  has  so  long  been  the  pride  of  America,  is  but 
the  younger  brother  of  the  Columbia.  Place  a  hundred  Bun- 
derbergs  side  by  side,  and  you  hr.ve  some  idea  of  these  stupen 
dous  bluffs;  double  the  height  of  the  P.'^iisades,  and  you  can 
form  an  idea  of  these  precipitous  cliffs.  Elevate  the  dwarfed 
evergreens  of  the  Hudson  highlands  into  firs  and  pines  lil<e 
these,  and  then  you  may  compare.  There  is  no  other  river 
in  United  States  territory  which  gives  such  impressions  of 
grandeur. 

Down  this  noble  stream,  eightj'five  years  ago,  floated  those 
adventurous  explorers  Lewis  and  Clarke.  Seven  years  later  the 
Overland  party  of  the  Astor  expedition  struggled  along  these 
wild  mountain  shores,  among  inhospitable  tribes,  trying  to  reach 
the  sea  party  aL  the  mouth  of  the  river.  A  few  years  later  still 
the  annu.al  "  brigades"  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  descended 
the  river  with  their  fleet  of  mackinaw  barges  to  the  rhythm  of 
their  Canadian  boating-songs,  as  they  approached  Fort  Van- 
couver \v:in  the  year'.s  peltry,  these  noble  cliffs  echoing  their 
noisy  gayoty.  Fifty-six  years  ago  missionaries  and  men  of 
Hcience.  filterinsf  tlirouixh  the  crust  of  semi-civilization  in  the 

en  o 

West,  found  their  way  down  the  Columbia ;  and  a  dozen  years 
later  immigration  sot  in.  A  hard  time  these  "  meji  of  destiny" 
bad  of  it,  too,  drowning  at  The  Dalles,  starving  at  the  Cascades, 
entering  upon  their  Canaan  deotitute  of  everything  but  indom- 
itable American  pluck. 

The  farther  we  depart  from  the  heart  of  the  mountains  the 
more  marked  is  the  change  in  the  character  and  quantity  of 
the  timber.  Firs  have  entirely  disapipeared,  while  spruce  and 
pine  have  taken  their  places.  The  ibrm,  too,  of  the  liighlands 
is  changed,  being  arranged  in  long  ridges,  either  parallel  with 
the  river  or  at  right  angles  to  it,  but  all  very  extensive,  and 
forming  benches,  dotted  only  with  trees,  instead  of  being  heavily 
wooded,  as  on  the  western  side  of  the  range.  The  climate,  also, 
is  changed,  and  a  dryness  and  warmth  quite  different  from  the 
Western  climate  are  observable.  '  ' 

On  nearing  The  Dalles  the  country  opens  out  more  and  more, 
the  terraced  appearance  continuing  quite  to  that  city,  and  the 


64 


ATLANTIC    ARISEN. 


basalt  here  presenting  a  columnar  formation.  We  come  now  to 
the  last,  and  by  liar  the  most  singular,  portion  of  the  gorge  of 
the  Columbia.  The  river  here  flows  for  eight  miles  through  a 
narrow  channel,  cut  in  solid  trap-rock,  and  more  or  less  tortuous. 
It  is,  of  course,  not  navigable,  and  travellers  by  the  river  make 
a  portage  by  rail  to  Colilo,  at  the  upper  end  of  the  gorge.  The 
word  dalles  comes  from  the  French  word  dale,  a  trough  or  con- 
duit, and  was  first  applied  by  the  French  voyageurs,  bein'g  cor- 
rupted into  its  present  form  of  spelling  by  Americans. 

What  a  strange  scene  it  is!  Sand,  rock,  and  water, — not  un- 
common elements  in  a  pleasing  picture ;  but  here  it  is  not  pleasing 
— it  is  uncanny  to  a  degree.  I  find  myself  wondering  how  deep 
hero  must  be  a  stream  onl}'  forty  yards  wide,  which  in  other 
places  is  two  thousand  yards  wide,  and  deep  enough  to  float  any 
kind  of  a  ship;  for  I  cannot  help  fiincying  that  what  the  river 
here  lacks  in  breadth  it  makes  up  in  depth.  I  am  not  aware 
-iiat  soundings  have  eve^  been  taken  in  this  pai't  of  the  river. 

Boats  have  gone  through  this  passage.  In  low  water  the 
barges  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  used  to  run  the  dalles. 
One  or  two  steamers  have  been  brought  through  at  a  low  stage 
of  water;  but  it  is  a  very  perilous  undei'taking, — much  more 
perilous  than  going  over  the  Cascades  at  high  water.  I  take 
observations,  and  decide  that  I  should  not  willingly  embark  on 
this  particul{ir  portion  of  the  Columbia. 


How  it  swirls,  how  it  twirls,  how  ^*,  eddies  nnd  boils ! 
How  it  races  and  chases,  how  it  leaps,  how  it  toils  ! 
How  one  mile  it  rushes,  and  another  it  flows 
As  soft  as  a  love-song  sung  •'  under  the  rose ;" 
How  in  one  place  it  seethes,  in  another  is  still 
And  as  smooth  as  the  flume  of  some  sleepy  old  mill. 
A  rock-entroughed  torrent  like  non'j  else,  I  pledge ; 
And,  in  truth,  is  n  river  set  up  on  it^  edge. 


Dalles  City — or  "  The  Dalles,"  as  it  is  officiall}'  named,  is  a 
town  of  about  twelve  hundred  inhabitants,  situated  on  the 
Oregon  side  of  the  Columbia,  at  the  lower  end  of  the  dalles  of 
the  river.  In  the  early  history  of  the  country  it  was  fixed  upon 
by  the  Methodists  as  a  mission  station  ;  but  failing  in  their 
efforts  to  instruct  the  Indians,  or  intimidated  by  their  warlike 


NOTES   OX   THE   COLUMBIA    RIVEU. 


65 


character,  or  both,  they  relinquished  the  station  to  the  Presby- 
terians, who  held  it  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  Cay  use  War  in 
1847.  On  this  occui'rence  the  whole  country  east  of  the  Cas- 
cades was  abandoned  by  all  missionaries  of  Protestant  denomi- 
nations, and  Dalles  was  converted  into  a  military  station,  the 
mission,  buildings  having  been  burnt  down.  »► 

When  the  Donation  Act  was  passed,  giving  missions  the 
ground  previously  occupied  by  them,  the  Metho(li?;ts  laid  claim 
to  a  portion  of  The  Dalles.  The  government,  howevei",  had 
appropriated  a  portion  of  the  claim  for  a  military  post,  paying 
for  the  part  thus  taken.  The  Presbyterians  then  disjjuted  the 
claim,  on  the  ground  that  they  were  in  possession  at  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  war,  which  compelled  tnem  to  quit  the  place,  and 
had  never  abandoned  it,  but  had  a  riiuit  to  return  at  the  cessa- 
tion of  hostilities.  The  question  of  ownership  has,  however, 
been  satisftictorily  settled  by  the  claimof  the  town  being  recog- 
nized by  the  government  as  superior  to  any  of  these. 

The  mining  rush  to  Idaho  in  1862-63  gave  The  Dalles  its  first 
start.  It  has  now  a  good  trade,  and  ought  witli  its  fine  situa- 
tion to  become  a  place  of  importance.  There  are  many  attrac- 
tive homes  here,  but  not  the  appearance  of  thrift  which  might 
be  expected.  The  Dalles  is  hoping  to  have  a  boat  railway  from  the 
foot  to  the  head  of  the  Dalles  Rapids,  the  government  engineers 
having  made  a  favorable  report  upon  the  project,  which  is  to  he 
accomplished  by  means  of  hydraulic  lifts  at  each  terminus,  the 
lower  to  raise  the  boats  sixty-eight  feet,  and  the  upper  one  forty 
feet,  at  low  water.  The  lifted  boat  will  be  lowered  upon  a  car, 
and  transported  by  rail  to  Celilo,  the  track  being  of  very  heavy 
iron,  but  of  ordinar}-  gauge  and  double  track.  Thirty-four 
wheeled  trucks,  placed  in  two  lines  of  seventeen  each,  are  ex- 
pected to  have  sufficient  flexibility  to  pass  over  the  curves  in 
the  road  ;  and  nine  hundred  tons  is  the  maximum  weight  to  be 
carried,  including  the  car.  Two  fifty-ton  locomotives  will  do 
the  hauling.  The  estimated  cost  of  the  whole  system,  with 
equipment  of  two  cars  and  four  engines,  capable  of  passing 
eight  loads  of  six  hundred  tons  both  ways  in  twelve  hours,  and 
including  the  necessaiy  buildings,  with  ten  per  cent,  for  contin- 
gencie.s,  is  two  million  six  hundred  and  ninety  thousand  three 
hundred  and  fifty-six  dollars.     It   is  also  in  contemplation    to 


66 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


improve  some  ru])i(l8  above  The  Dalles,  all  of  which,  when 
completed,  will  add  a  notable  feature  to  Columbia  Eiver  travel. 

There  is  companitivjly  little  river  travel  on  the  Columbia 
above  the  Wallaraet,  ail  through  passengei'S  being  carried  on 
the  Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  Company's  line  to  its  con- 
nection with  the  Oregon  Short  Line  through  Idaho,  or  to  a 
junction  with  the  Northern  Pacific  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Columbia.  But  sight-seeing  is  more  satisfactorj'  from  the  deck 
of  a  steamboat  than  from  the  window  of  a  rapidly-moving  and 
crowded  car,  and  the  tourist  will  do  well  to  bear  this  in  mind. 

Aside  from  the  river  there  is  little  to  interesi  one  about  The 
Dalles.  Just  above  the  old  garrison  grounds  is  a  fine  view  of 
Mount  Adams  and  another  of  Mount  Hood.  Is  seems  to  the 
uneducated  vision  as  if  an  hour's  ride  would  take  one  up  among 
the  highest  firs  on  TTood,  qtiite  to  the  glistening  snow-fields;  but 
it  is  a  good  forty  miles,  over  a  rough  road,  to  the  foot  of  the 
mountain  where  the  climbing  bcgin-^. 

Opposite  The  Dalles  is  the  unfinished  village  of  Rockland,  in 
the  county  of  Klickitat,  Washington.  The  name  of  Wasco,  the 
county  in  w-hich  The  Dalles  is  situated,  was  given  to  this  locality 
— so  runs  the  legend— in  the  following  manner:  The  Indians 
being  collected  at  the  fishery  Winquat,  a  favorite  spot  for  taking 
salmon,  about  three  miles  from  The  Dalles,  one  of  them  was  so 
unlucky  as  to  lota  his  squaw^,  the  mother  of  his  children,  one  of 
whom  was  yet  only  a  babe.  This  babe  would  not  be  comforted, 
and  the  other  children,  bi.'ing  young,  were  clamorous  for  their 
mother.  In  this  trying  position,  whh  these  wailing  little  ones 
on  his  awkward  masculine  hands,  the  father  was  compelled  to 
give  up  fishing  and  betake  himself  to  amusing  his  babies.  Many 
expedients  having  failed,  he  at  length  found  that  they  were 
diverted  by  seeing  him  pick  cavities  in  the  rocks  in  the  form  of 
basins,  which  they  could  fill  with  water  or  pebbles,  and  accord- 
ingly, as  many  a  patient  mother  does  every  day,  adapted  him- 
self to  the  taste  and  capacities  of  his  children,  and  made  a.ny 
number  of  basins  they  required.  Wasco  being  the  name  of  a 
kind  of  horn  basin  which  is  in  use  among  the  Des  Chutes,  his 
associates  gave  the  name  to  this  devoted  father  in  ridicule  of 
his  domestic  qualities ;  and  afterward,  when  he  had  resolved  to 
found  a  village  at  Winquat,  and  drew  many  of  his  people  after 


NOTES   ON   THE   COLUMBIA    RIVER. 


67 


him,  they  continued  to  call  them  all  Wascos,  or  basins.  To-day 
the  tribe  is  little  known,  but  the  county  of  which  Dalles  is  the 
metropolis  bears  the  name  once  given  in  derision  to  a  poor, 
perplexed  father  for  descending  to  the  office  of  basin-maker  for 
his  children. 

,  The  original  Indian  name  of  the  place  where  Dalles  stands 
was  Winquat,  signifying  "surrounded  b}'  rocky  cliffs."  There 
are  many  Indian  names  attached  to  points  in  this  neighborhood 
of  poetical  signification.  "  Alone  in  its  beauty"  is  the  transhi- 
tion  of  Gni-(jalt-whe-la-leth,  the  name  of  a  fine  spring  near  town. 
"  The  mountain  denoting  the  sun's  travel"  is  the  meaning  of 
Shim-nn-/dath,  a  high  hill  south  of  town,  etc. 

About  three  miles  above  Dalles  is  a  noted  fishers-  of  the 
Indians,  as  mentioned  above,  and  opposite  to  it  is  the  site  of  the 
Indian  village  of  Wishram,  spoken  of  by  the  earliest  writers  on 
Oregon.  No  village  exists  there  now — at  least  not  anything 
which  could  well  be  recognized  as  such. 

From  The  Dalles  to  Celilo  there  are  rocks  all  about  in  ever}- 
direction,  a  little  grass,  a  great  deal  of  sand,  and  some  very 
brilliant  flowers  growing  out  of  it.  There  are  also  a  few  Indian 
lodges,  with  salmon  d.ying  inside,  whose  rich  orange  color 
shows  through  the  open  door- way  like  a  flame;  and  a  few  In- 
dians fishing  with  a  net,  their  long  black  hair  falling  over  their 
shoulders,  and  blowing  into  their  eyes  in  a  most  inconvenient 
fashion.  But  everything  about  an  Indian's  dress  is  inconve- 
nient, except  the  ease  with  which  it  is  put  on !  Some  of  these 
younger  savages  have  ignored  dressing  altogether  as  a  fatigue 
not  to  be  undertaken,  until  with  inci'easing  years  an  increase  of 
strength  shall  be  arrived  at. 

The  railroad  takes  us  along  under  overhanging  cliffs  of  plu- 
tonie  rock,  one  of  which  is  called  Capo  Horn,  like  its  brother  of 
the  lower  Columbia.  As  we  noar  Celilo  we  discover  that  we 
have  by  no  means  left  behind  high  banks  and  noble  outlines. 
Just  here,  where  we  re  embark  for  the  continuance  of  the  up- 
river  voyage,  is  a  wide  expanse  of  tumbling  rapids,  between 
lofty  bluffs,  rising  precipitously  from  a  narrow,  sandy  beach. 

Of  Celilo  there  is  not  much  more  than  the  immense  ware- 
house of  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company — nine  hun- 
dred  leet   in   length — built  in   the  flush   times  of  gold-mining 


68 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


in  the  upper  cuuiitiy,  and  the  other  buildings  required  by  tl\e 
business  of  the  i)rcsent  owners.  This  company,  fornierl3'  the 
most  important  factor  in  the  development  of  the  interior,  has 
been  succeeded  b}'  the  Oregon  Raihva}'  and  Navigation  Com- 
pany, whose  properly  is  leased  to  the  Union  Pacific. 

Lying  along  the  shores,  in  little  coves,  are  numerous  sailing 
craft  of  small  size,  which  carry  freight  from  point  to  point  on 
the  river  above.  The  sun  of  an  unclouded  morning  gilds  their 
white  sails,  and  sparkles  in  the  dancing  rapids.  The  meadow- 
lark's  voice — loud,  clear,  and  sweei — reaches  us  from  the  over- 
hanging banks.     It  is  at  once  a  wild  and  a  peaceful  scene. 

A  short  distance  above  Celilo,  Des  Chutes  River  empties  into 
the  Columbia,  through  a  deep  canyon.  A  remarkable  feature 
of  the  rivers  of  East  Oregon  is  the  depth  of  their  beds  below 
the  surface  of  the  country  which  borders  them.  Des  Chutes 
flows  through  a  canyon  in  places  more  than  a  thousand  feet 
deep.  Where  it  enters  the  Columbia  its  banks  are  not  so  high, 
because  the  great  river  itself  has  its  course  through  the  lowest 
portions  of  the  elevated  plains ;  and  its  bed  is  nowhere  at  any 
very  great  elevation  above  the  sea-level.  At  The  Dalles,  two 
hundred  miles  from  the  sea,  the  level  of  the  river  is  one  hun- 
dred and  nineteen  feet  above  i- ;  and  the  Walla  Walla  Valley,  at 
a  distance  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  has  an  elevation  of 
a  few  feet  over  four  hundred.  Away  from  the  Columbia,  the 
elevation  of  the  plains  varies  from  five  hundred  to  twent^'-five 
hundred  feet.  Hence  the  great  depth  of  the  canyons  of  streams 
flowing  on  the  same  level  with  the  great  river. 

Along  this  portion  of  the  Columbia  the  traveller  has  plenty 
of  time  to  conjecture  the  future  of  so  remarkable  a  country — 
not  being  startled  by  constantly-recurring  wonders,  as  he  might 
have  been  on  the  lower  portion  of  the  river.  There  certainly  is 
great  majesty  and  grace  expressed  in  the  lofty  forms  and  noble 
outlines  of  the  overhanging  bluffs  which  border  the  river  for 
'great  distances;  and  that  is  all.  There  is  neither  the  smooth- 
ness of  art,  nor  the  wildness  which  rocks  and  trees  impart  to 
natural  scenes ;  and  the  simple  beauty  of  long,  curving  lines 
becomes  monotonous.  If  it  be  summer,  there  are  patches  of 
color  on  the  sere-looking,  grassy,  heights;  rosy  clarkia,  blue 
lupine,  and  golden  sunflower.     We  hear  the  voices  of  multitudes 


1 


NOTES   ON   THE   COLUMBIA    KIVER. 


69 


of  meadow-lurks ;  and  see  a  few  prairie-hens  stooping  their  long 
necks  shyly  among  the  bunch-grass;  or  see  a  herd  of  cattle 
fattening  on  the  dry  but  nutritious  bunch-grass. 

Thirty-one  miles  above  The  Dalles  we  pass  the  mouth  of  John 
Day  Eiver,  named  after  luckless  John  Day  of  the  Astor  expe- 
dition,— a  stream  in  all  respects  similar  to  Des  Chutes,  with  the 
same  narrow  valley,  and  the  same  depth  below  the  general  level 
of  the  country.  On  the  head-waters  of  John  Day  River  placer- 
mining  was  successfully  cari-ied  on  from  1862  for  several  years, 
and  has  since  been  followed  by  quartz-mining. 

The  high  bluffs  intervening  between  the  Columbia  and  the 
interior  country  quite  conceal  any  appearances  of  settlement, 
and  leave  upon  the  mind  the  impression  of  an  altogether  unin- 
habited country, — an  impression  quite  erroneous  in  fact,  though 
there  are  thousands  of  square  miles  still  vacant. 

Willow  Creek  is  a  small  stream,  coming  into  the  Columbia 
thirty-thi'ce  miles  above  John  Day  River,  with  a  small,  fertile 
valley  well  settled  up.  After  an  interval  of  another  thirty-three 
miles,  we  find  ourselves  at  Umatilla,  a  small  town  set  in  the 
sands  at  the  mouth  of!  the  river  of  that  name.  It  served 
formerly  as  a  port  to  the  mines  of  Powder  River  and  the  Boise 
country.  Here  the  steamers  of  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation 
Company  disembarked  passengers  and  freight ;  and  stages, 
"  prairie  schooners,"  and  pack-trains  took  up  their  burdens. 

The  Umatilla  River,  on  account  of  its  valley,  is  one  of  the 
most  important  streams  of  East  Oregon.  The  Umatilla  Valley, 
together  with  the  boitom-lands  of  several  tributary  creeks, 
furnishes  a  fine  tract  of  rich,  alluvial  land,  having  a  high  rep- 
utation for  its  agricultural  capacity.  About  seven  thousand 
acres,  nearly  all  bottom-land,  are  under  cultivation  in  Umatilla 
County,  the  whole  area  of  which  is  over  forty-seven  thousand 
square  miles. 

All  the  way  from  the  Cascade  Mountains  to  Umatilla — a  hun- 
dred miles,  more  or  less — we  have  found  the  rivei's  all  coming 
into  the  Columbia  from  the  south  side.  Rising  in  the  Blue 
Mountains,  which  traverse  the  eastern  half  of  Oregon  from 
northeast  to  southwest,  they  flow  in  nearly  direct  courses  to  the 
Columbia,  showing  thereby  the  greater  elevation  of  the  central 
portion  of  East  Oregon  over  the  valley  of  the  Columbia.     Not 


II 


70 


ATLANTIS    ARISEN. 


far  above  tho  junction  of  the  Umatilla  and  Columbia  the  great 
river  makes  u  long  bend,  receiving,  after  it  takes  the  north  and 
south  direction,  the  rivers  flowing  east  from  the  Cascade  Range 
in  East  Washington,  as  well  as  the  tumultuous  Lewis  or  Snake 
River,  which  divides  Oregon  from  Idaho. 

It  is  nearly  sunset  when  the  steamer  quits  Umatilla  to  finish 
the  voyage  we  have  entered  upon,  at  Wallula, — a  distance  of 
twenty-five  miles  farther  up  stream,  in  a  direction  a  little  east 
of  north.  We  steam  along  in  the  rosy  sunset  and  purple  twilight, 
by  which  the  hills  arc  clothed  in  royal  dyes.  About  eight  in 
the  evening  we  arrive  at  Wallula,  too  late  to  be  aware  of  the 
waste  of  sand  and  gravel  in  which  it  is  situated.  Wallula  has 
been  the  port  for  the  Walla  Walla  Valley  ever  since  the  occupa- 
tion of  the  country  by  white  ])eo])le.  It  was  formerly  a  post 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Comi:)any,  some  oi'  the  old  adobe  buildings 
being  still  standing. 

The  bluffs  bordering  the  Columbia  at  this  place  repeat  those 
harmonies  of  grandeur  with  grace,  which  won  remark  from  us 
on  other  ])ortions  of  the  river.  The  Walla  Walla  River,  which 
comes  in  just  here,  is  a  very  prcttj'  strenm,  with,  however,  very 
little  bottom-land  near  the  Columbia. 

The  sand  of  Wallula  is  something  to  be  dreaded.  It  insinu- 
ates itself  everywhere.  You  find  it  scattered  over  the  plate  on 
which  you  are  to  dine ;  piled  up  in  little  hillocks  in  the  corner 
of  your  wash-stand ;  dredged  over  the  pillows  on  which  you 
thoughtlessly  sink  your  weary  head,  wdthout  stopping  to  shake 
them;  setting  your  teeth  on  edge  with  grit,  everywhere.  And 
this  ocean  of  sand  extends  several  miles  back  from  tKe  river. 
In  sight  of  the  Columbia  anil  Snake  Rivers,  it  seems  to  cry  out, 
like  the  Ancient  Mariner, — 

"  Water,  water  everywhere, 
...  And  never  a  drop  to  drink." 

Bathed  in  a  rosj'  sunset,  with  a  rojal  purple  twilight  stealing 
over  the  hills,  it  has  a  simple  and  chaste  grandeur  about  it  that 
appertains  to  desert  scenes,  making  one  think  of  the  Nile;  the 
more  so,  as  the  ri.sing  moon  touches  with  a  soft  gilding  the  sum- 
mit of  a  great  rock  that  might  be  the  pyramid  of  Cheops.  And 
so  good-night  to  it. 


NOTES   ON   THE   C-QLUMBIA    RIVEU. 


71 


When  I  wake  in  the  morning  I  think  to  inquire  into  ihe  navi- 
gability in  general  of  this  upper  part  of  the  Columbia  and  its 
aoutiiei-n  bianch,  and  am  handed  the  report  of  Captain  T.  W. 
Synions,  recently  made  to  the  department  at  Washington.  Of 
this  he  says  that  the  Upper  Columbia  and  Snake  form  a  con- 
tinuous line  of  navigable  rivers  from  Celilo  at  the  head  of  The 
Dalles  to  Lewiston  in  Idaho,  but  broken  by  many  rapids,  ren- 
dering navigation  difficult  and  dangerous,  the  rapids  in  nearly 
every  instance  being  caused  by  rocky  bars  and  occasional 
boulders,  while  the  channels  were  crooked  and  narrow,  and  the 
water,  before  improvement,  ruling  from  two  to  three  feet  on  the 
bars,  which  were  practically  impassable  at  low  water. 

This  statement,  from  including  the  Columbia  lliver,  is  mis- 
leading. The  Columbia  below  the  Snake  junction,  although 
having  some  rapids,  especially  near  Celilo,  has  been  constantly 
navigated  by  steamboats  of  considerable  size  over  since  1859, 
when  the  '•  Colonel  Wright," — named  in  honor  of  Colonel,  after- 
wards General,  Wright, — a  small  steamer,  was  put  on  the  river 
experimentall}'.  The  fioquent  ro.ky  bars  are  encountered  in 
the  Snake  River  between  its  mouth  and  Riparia,  although  the 
Columbia  River  steamers  used  to  i"un,  during  high  water,  to 
Lewiston.  After  July  1,  they  were  usually  drawn  off.  Some 
plans  for  improving  the  rivers  were  adopted  in  1877. 

According  to  the  report  cited,  the  Snake  River  has  a  general 
breadth  of  one  thousand  feet,  a  slope  of  2.48  feet  per  mile,  and  a 
discharge  of  twenty  thousand  cubic  feet  per  second.  All  the 
bars  have  been  improved  to  an  extent  which  removes  all  danger 
to  competent  navigators  acquainted  with  them,  with  the  single 
exception  of  Long  Crossing  Bar,  all  the  others  having  three  feet 
of  water  on  them  at  low  water.  Navigation  below  Riparia  has 
been  suspended,  but  quite  as  much,  I  imagine,  on  account  of 
railroad  competition  as  by  reason  of  bars.  Above  there,  where 
a  rich  agricultural  region  still  depends  on  navigation,  boats  are 
running.  Even  far  up  the  Snake  a  steamer  runs  between  the 
crossing  of  the  O.  R.  and  N.  Railway,  and  Seven  Devils  in 
Idaho,  a  distance  of  sixty-five  miles  north.  Still  farther  up,  a 
steamer  plies  between  the  same  crossing  and  a  point  beyond, 
but  the  Union  Pacific  bridges  interfere  with  navigation,  not 
being  provided  with  draws.  •• 


i  I 


72 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


In  this  merely  supci'ficial  sketch  of  the  most  magnifioent  of 
American  rivers  its  scenic  features  chieHy  have  been  spoken  of 
But  no  tliouifhtful  traveller  can  make  this  v 03  age  without  pic- 
turing to  his  imagination  the  spleuilid  possihilition  here  aftorded 
for  a  dis})la3'  of  the  wealth  and  taste  of  the  naticm.  Tlio  de- 
lightful variety  of  arrangement  in  a  ])anof'ama  of  two  hundred 
miles  of  grandeur,  the  cunning  with  which  nature  has  inter- 
spersed imposing  ruggodness  with  enticing  beauty,  is  a  strong 
feature  of  Columbia  scenery,  and  suggests  the  still  more  charm- 
ing eft'oot  of  the  whole  when  is  added  the  attraction  of  refined 
human  habitations  perched  ory  here  and  there,  especially 
along  the  highlands  from  Astoria  to  The  Dalles,  and  from  Cape 
Disappointment  to  Wallula.  With  railways  on  both  sides  of  the 
(Jolumbia,  and  with  the  opening  of  the  river  to  continuous 
travel  by  the  improvements  in  progress  and  projected,  the  vol- 
ume of  commerce  destined  to  roll  between  these  noble  shores  is 
simply  incalculable.  Veiy  little  effort  has  been  made  toward 
settlement  along  the  great  stream,  the  pioneers  of  the  country 
first  taking  up  the  open  lands  in  the  interior;  but  there  is  a 
large  amount  of  excellent  grass,  vegetable,  and  fruit  land  near 
the  river,  anil  a  little  distance  away  from  it  land  which,  when 
cleared,  will  make  tbe  best  of  farms. 


CHAPTER    VI. 


SOME   t.JNERAL   TALK   ABOUT   CLIMATE. 


Having  introduced  my  reader  to  the  two  great  States  of 
Oregon  and  Washington  by  the  magrificent  river  which  divides 
and  unites  them,  let  me  first  desorilie,  as  best  I  can,  the  one 
which  by  age  has  the  right  of  precedence, — Oregon. 

In  those  early  times,  between  1820  and  1840,  when  Congress 
was  discussing  the  title  of  the  United  States  to  this  region, 
and  doubting  often  whether  the  game  of  contending  for  our 
right  was  worth  the  candle,  the  whole  of  this  country  on 
both  sides  of  the  Columbia  was  referred  to  as  "  the  Oregon," 


SOME   GKNERAL  TALK    ABOUT   CLIMATE. 


73 


and  "the  Oregon  River"  was  more  frequently  on  their  lips  than 
the  Columbia.  It  is  intoioating  to  know  that  the  word  was 
invented  by  one  Ncv  Englander  and  immortalized  by  another. 
When  Jonathan  Carver,  doughty  captain  that  he  was  in  the 
French  and  Indian  wars  of  the  last  century,  turned  e.\plorer,  he 
led  an  expedition  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Mississippi,  that 
region  then  l)oing  the  "  Far  West"  of  the  continent,  and,  iiiiding 
little  that  he  really  understood,  made  some  audacious  guesses, 
as  was  the  custom  of  explorers  before  him,  and  drew  a  map  on 
which  he  had  the  Mississijjpi,  Missouri,  and  "Origan"  Rivers 
to  rise  from  the  same  or  neighboring  sources,*  The  nnme,  he 
said,  was  given  him  by  the  Indians,  but  a  thorough  search  for 
any  such  word  in  Iiulian  languages  leads  to  the  conviction  that, 
like  the  map,  the  name  wiis  purely  imaginary. 

The  word,  however,  was  one  suited  to  the  poet's  numbers,  and 
after  the  discovery  of  the  Columbia,  when  Bryant  wrote  his 
immortal  "Thanatopsis,"  he  incorporated  the  word  in  his  poem, 
with  a  slightly  diiferent  spelling  and  a  iiobh  i-  sound.  The  fame 
of  Bryant  established  the  use  of  the  word  among  educated 
people,  and  henceforth  the  -  territory  of  the  Oregon"  was  in  the 
mouths  of  our  national  legislatoi's  until  it  became  fixed.  It  is 
possible  that  but  for  the  controversy  with  Great  Britain,  which 
kept  alive  the  name  under  which  the  great  river  in  dispute  was 
known  to  her  statesmen,  ours  might  have  ignored  it  altogether. 
Let  us  be  thankful  we  have  both  names  preserved. 

The  physical  geography  of  Oregon  is  unique,  and  gives  a 
great  variety  of  climates.  Approaching  from  the  Pacific,  we 
find,  first,  a  narrow  skirting  of  coast,  from  one  to  six  miles  in 
width.  Bade  of  this  rises  the  Coast  Range  of  mountains,  from 
three  to  five  thousand  feet  high.  Beyond  this  range  are  fine, 
level  prairies,  extending  from  forty  to  sixty  miles  eastward. 
Beyond  these  prairies  rises  again  the  Cascade  Range,  from  five 
to  eight  thousand  feet  in  height,  and  having  to  the  east  of  them 


*  Carver  knew  that  navigators  familiar  with  the  west  coast  of  the  conti- 
nent expected  to  find  a  river  from  the  centre  of  the  continent  falling  into  the 
Pacific  somewhere  in  this  latitude,  and  had  vaguely  named  it,  before  seeing 
it,  the  "  River  of  the  West."  He  therefore  pretended  to  give  the  location 
of  its  sources,  miising  it  by  only  about  ten  hundred  and  fifty  miles. 


74 


ATLANTIH    AllIHEN. 


high,  rolling  prairiofl,  extending  to  the  btirfo  of  the  Blue  Mnun- 
tains,  which  trend  HouthwcHtwunlly,  loavini^  plains  und  small 
valleys,  to  the  oast,  between  tlietuHclvos  and  the  Snake  Kivor, 
which  forms  the  eastern  boundary  of  Oregon  and  a  portion  of 
Washington. 

Those  ditforonces  in  altitude  would  of  themselves  produce 
diflieronccs  in  teinporaturo.  But  tlio  groat  reason  why  the 
change  is  so  groat  from  the  coast  to  the  Snake  Rivor  lies  in  the 
arrangoniont  of  the  mountain  ranges,  and  in  the  fact  that  the 
northwest  shore  of  the  An)erican  continent  is  washed  by  a 
warm  current  from  the  Japan  Sea.  The  effect  of  this  current 
is  such  that  places  in  the  same  latitude  on  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  coasts  are  several  degrees — sometimes  twenty  degrees — 
warmer  on  the  latter  coast  than  on  the  former.  Tliis  gives  a 
temperature  at  which  great  evaporation  is  carried  on.  The 
moisture  thus  chargod  upon  the  atmosphere  by  day  is  precipi- 
tated during  the  cooler  hours  of  night  in  fog,  mist,  or  rain. 

In  summer,  the  prevailing  wind  of  the  coast  is  from  the 
northwest,  thus  following  the  general  direction  of  the  shore- 
line. It  naturally  carries  the  sea-vapor  inland;  but  the  fii'st 
obstacle  encountered  by  those  masses  of  vapor  is  a  range  of 
mountains  high  enough  to  cause,  by  their  altitude  and  conse- 
quent lower  temperature,  the  precipitation  of  a  huge  amount 
of  moisture  upon  this  seaward  slope.  Still,  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  moisture  is  carried  over  this  first  range  and  through 
the  gaps  in  the  mountains,  and  falls  in  rain  or  mist  upon  the 
level  prairie  country  beyond.  Not  so,  however,  with  the 
second,  or  Cascade  Range.  Those  mountains,  by  their  height, 
intercept  the  sea-fog  completely ;  and  while  groat  masses  of 
vapor  overhang  their  western  slopes,  on  their  eastern  foot-hills 
and  the  rolling  piairies  beyond  not  a  drop  of  dew  has  fallen. 
This  is  the  explanation  of  the  difference  in  climate,  as  regards 
dryness  and  moisture,  between  East  and  West  Oregon.  All 
other  differences  depend  on  altitude  and  local  circumstances. 

Notwithstanding  the  groat  amount  of  moisture  precipitated 
upon  the  country  west  of  the  Cascades,  the  general  climate  may 
be  said  to  be  drier  than  on  the  Atlantic  coast.  The  atmosphere 
does  not  seem  to  hold  moisture,  and  even  in  rainy  weather  its 
drying  qualities  are  remarkable.     Taken  altogether,  the  stormy 


80ME  GENERAL  TA  LK    ABOUT  CLIMATE. 


75 


duys  ia  thin  part  of  Oro<^<)U  are  not  more  numerous  than  iu  the 
Athvntic  States ;  but  the  rainy  duyH  are,  because  all  the  storms 
here  are  rain,  with  rare  exceptions.  The  autumn  rains  com- 
mence, usually,  in  November, —Homotimes  not  till  December, — 
and  the  wot  season  continues  until  April,  or  possibly  till  May ; 
not  without  interruptions,  however,  oftentimes  of  a  month,  in 
midwinter,  of  bright  weather.  About  the  middle  of  June  the 
Columbia  River  is  high,  and  (luring  the  flood  there  are  generally 
frequent  il3ing  showers.  After  the  flood  "is  abated,  there  is 
seldom  any  rain  until  .Suptember,  when  showers  commence 
again,  and  prove  very  welcome,  after  the  long,  warm,  but  wholly 
delightful  summer.  The  annual  rain-fall  of  tho  Wallamet  Valley 
ranges  from  thirty-five  to  fifty  inches.  In  the  Umpqua  and 
Rogue  River  Valleys  it  is  less;  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, and  along  the  coast,  both  north  and  south,  it  is  more. 
The  mean  annual  temperature  of  Western  Oregon  is  52.4°, 
although  in  certain  localities  the  average  is  higher  by  one  or 
two  degrees. 

East  of  the  Cascades  the  arrangement  of  the  seasons  is 
somewhat  different.  There  is  much  less  rain,  which  comes 
in  showers  rather  than  in  a  steady  fall,  and  is  confined  to  the 
months  between  September  and  June.  Occasionally  snow  falls 
to  the  depth  of  a  few  inches,  and  in  some  winters  to  a  considera- 
ble depth,  and  has  remained  on  the  ground  a  number  of  weeks. 
The  heat  of  summer  and  the  cold  of  winter  are  each  more  ex- 
treme, but  not  at  their  highest  or  lowest  degrees  so  trying  as 
the  same  amount  of  beat  or  cold  would  be  in  a  moister  atmos- 
phere. The  autumn  months  in  this  portion  of  the  country  are 
most  delightful,  with  the  thermometer  ranging  from  fifty-five 
degrees  to  seventy.  The  phenomenon  of  the  plains  is  the  peri- 
odical warm  wind  which  comes  ever  the  Cascades  from  the 
Japan  current,  known  as  the  "  Chinook  wind,"  and  so  named 
by  the  Indians  because  it  came  from  the  direction  of  the 
Chinook  tribe,  with  whom  thpy  exchanged  articles  of  barter  in 
a  sort  of  annual  fair  held  at  the  mountain-pass,  beyond  which 
they  never  intruded  on  each  other's  territory.  This  warm  air- 
current  has  a  surprising  evaporating  quality,  licking  up  several 
inches  of  snow  in  a  single  night,  leaving  the  ground  bare  and 
the  temperature  mild.     It  is  welcomed  by  the  white  stock-raiser, 


n 


1 1 


76 


ANTIS   ARISEN. 


as  it,  formerly  was  by  tho  aboriginal  horse-owner  of  these  plains, 
and  is  one  of  the  features  of  the  country. 

Tho  opposite  of  the  Chinook  is  the  Walla  Walla,  or  cast  wind, 
which  is  fiercely  cold  and  searching.  Tho  Indians  i>ad  a  ti'a- 
dition  concerning  these  winds,  that  they  in  the  persons  of  two 
brothers  on  each  side  met  and  fought  u  duel  to  determine  which 
should  prevail,  one  of  their  anoient  gods  to  be  umpire.  In  the 
battle  the  Chinook  brothers  \/ere  wors.'ed  and  beheaded.  But 
an  infant  sen  of  the  eldest  being  told  of  his  father's  fate,  grew 
up  with  the  desire  for  vengeance,  and  cultivated  his  streagth 
by  such  exercise  as  pulling  up  trees  by  the  roots,  beginning  with 
saplings  and  increasing  the  size  until  he  could  tear  up  the  largest 
trees  of  the  forest.  Then  he  sent  a  challenge  to  the  brothers 
of  tho  cold  wind,  whom  he  overcame,  and  who  were  in  titrn 
beheaded.  But  the  god  who  sanctioned  these  contests  declared 
that  i+  was  not  good  there  should  be  no  wind,  and  decreed  that 
thereafter  the  cold  wind  should  not  blow  with  so  much  violence 
nor  be  so  freezing  ;  neither  should  the  Chinook  break  down 
trees  or  destroy  houses.  The  Chinoolt  might  blow  strongest 
at  night,  and  the  Walla  Walla  wind  by  J  ly,  which  they  still 
continue  lo  do. 

Thp  mean  temperature  of  East  Oregon  is  about  one  degree 
higher  than  the  western  division ;  but  the  short  winters  are 
cold„r  and  the  long  summers  hotter  than  West  Oregon.  A 
peculiarity  of  the  climate  of  everj^^  part  of  Oregon  and  Wash- 
ington is  the  comparative  coolness  of  the  uif^bts.  No  matter 
how  warm  the  di^ys  may  have  been,  the  nights  always  bring 
refreshing  sleep,  usually  under  a  pair  of  blankets,  even  in  sum- 
mer. Nor  does  the  heat,  however  great,  have  that  fatal  effect 
which  h  does  in  the  Atlantic  States.  Not  only  men,  but  cattle 
and  horses,  can  endure  to  labor  without  e.vhaustion  in  the 
hottest  days  of  summer,  and  sun-strokes  are  of  very  rai'e 
occurrence. 

There  are  two  charges  brought. against  the  Oregon  country 
on  account  of  climate. — namely,  that  it  does  not  rain  enough  in 
Eastern  Oregon,  and  that  it  rains  too  much  in  West  Oregon. 
Humanity  does  sometimes  tire  of  an  overphis  of  rain  from  the 
monotony  of  it  rather  than  because  it  is  disagreeable.  But  the 
earth  enjoys  it.     If  j'ou  do  not  belitrj  i„,  come  with  me  to  the 


SOME  GENERAL   TALK    ABOUT   CLIMATE. 


77 


woods,  and  I  will  prove  it  to  you, — aye,  in  March.  The  turf  in 
the  flat  or  hollow  places  is  soaked  with  water,  like  a  sponge, 
and  if  you  do  not  step  carefully  you  will  press  it  out  over  your 
shoe-tops  ;  hr,^.  by  dint  of  quick  eyes  and  agile  movement,  you 
will  escape  a:i  v-  serious  mishaps.  Climbing  over  logs,  jumping 
weather  ditches,  and  crossing  creeks  furnishes  the  necessary 
excitement  and  exercise  by  which  you  keep  off  a  chill;  for  if 
you  were  to  sit  down  to  summer  reveries  at  this  time  of  year, 
the  doctor  would  be  in  requisition  directly. 

Here  we  are  at  last,  at  the  very  foot  of  the  mountain  ;  and 
what  does  this  forest  recess  furnish  us  ?  What  magnificent 
great  trees!  Fir,  cedar,  and  here  and  there  along  this  little 
creek  a  yew,  a  maple,  or  an  alder.  Hardly  a  ray  of  sunshine 
ever  penetrates  this  green  and  purple  gloom.  Spring  and  fall, 
winter  and  summer,  are  much  the  same  here, — a  diiference  only 
of  water.  In  summer  the  creek  is  within  bounds,  and  you 
can  lie  on  the  mosses,  if  you  feel  disposed.  "What!  lie  on  the 
mouses,  everyone  of  which  seems  such  a  marvel  of  beauty? 
What  a  wtmderful,  what  a  charming  spot  I  I  never,  in  all  my 
life !" 

No,  of  course  you  never  saw  anything  like  it.  This  is  the 
only  country  out  of  the  tropics  where  vegetation  has  such  a 
remarkable  growth.  Here  are  a  dozen  kinds  of  elegant  green 
mosses  in  a  group,  to  say  nothing  of  the  tiny  gray  and  brown 
and  yellow  varieties  'ith  which  we  have  always  been  familiar, 
besides  lichens  iuu  aerable.  Observe  those  fallen  trees.  Their 
immense  trunks  are  swathed  in  elegant  blankets  of  emerald 
brightness.  See  hero,  I  can  tear  them  otf  by  the  yard, — enough 
on  one  tree  t^  carpet  a  room !  Look  at  the  pendent  moss, — two 
feet  long  at  least,  —and  what  a  vivid  yellow  green ! 

Just  step  up  a  little  higher:  I  will  show  you  a  wonder.  Did 
you  over  dream  of  anything  so  marvellous  as  that  bank  of  moss  f 
Six  inches  high,  branching  like  a  fern,  yet  fine  and  delicate  as 
that  on  the  calyx  of  a  moss-rose.  Here  is  enough,  if  preserved, 
to  furnish  all  the  French  flower-makers ;  and  glad  would  they 
be  to  get  it.  And  ferns, — yes,  indeed  !  Just  look  at  this 
maidenhair.  It  is  of  every  size,  from  the  delicate  plant  three 
inches  high  to  the  mature  one  of  fifteen  or  eighteen  inches. 
And  here  are  some  that  have  stood  all  winter  in  their  autumn 


78 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


ft 


tti 

+1 


dress.  See  how  exquisitely  thoy  are  tinted. — raw-sienna  for  the 
body  color,  and  such  delicate  markirii^  in  vandyke-brown  on 
every  leaf,  or  gold  color,  marked  with  liurnt-sienna,  and  all 
relieved  so  beautifully  by  the  polished  bla-k  of  their  slender 
stems. 

But  we  must  not  stop  long  in  this  dense  and  damp  shade ; 
there  might  be  intermittent  lurking  in  it  for  unaccustomed 
town-folk.  But  just  note,  as  we  retrace  our  steps,  the  great 
variety  of  plants,  some  of  them  very  beautiful,  that  grow  all 
winter  long  in  these  soljtary  places.  This  handsome  variegated 
leaf  comes  from  a  bulbous  root,  and  bears  a  lily-sliaped  flowe^' 
I  am  told  ;  but  being  new  to  me,  I  cannot  yet  classify  it.  We  ar? 
still  too  far  from  open  sunlight  to  be  mucli  among  flowering 
])lants. 

But  directly  we  come  to  occasional  opening.*!,  or  to  higher 
benches  of  ground  that  get  the  light  and  drainage,  we  shall 
see  adder-tongue,  Solomon's-seal,  anemone,  wild  violet,  and 
spring-beauty,  putting  up  their  leaves,  waiting  for  sunny  days 
enough  to  dare  to  bring  out  their  blossoms.  Here,  too.  arc  two 
species  of  creeping  vines,  very  lielicate  and  graceful,  trailing 
along  the  ground,  with  little  fresh  leaflets  already  growing.  In 
April  the  twin-flower  (Linna'a  borealis)  will  blossom  with  dainty, 
])inkish-white.  trumpet-shaped  flowers,  very  lovely  to  behold. 
Verba  buena  ' Micromeria  Douglasii).  vulgarl}'^  called  Oregon  tea, 
from  the  spicy  flavor  of  its  loaves,  which  make  an  agreeable 
infusion,  is  also  a  beautiful  trailing  plant  of  this  season. 

Now  we  get  down  to  the  woods  along  the  river-bank.  Ah. 
here  is  really  a  blossoming  shrub,  the  flowering  currant.  In 
haste  to  brighten  the  dull  March  weather  with  a  touch  of  color 
over  the  green  and  brown  and  purple  tints  that  are  so  melan- 
choly unde/  a  cloudy  sky,  the  cm*rant  does  not  wait  to  put  forth 
its  foliage  tirst,  'nit  crimsons  all  over  with  thickest  flowers,  in 
racemes  of  nearly  a  finger's  length.  There  are  two  varieties  of 
the  red  and  one  of  the  yellow,  all  beautiful  and  ornamental 
shrubs.  In  company  with  this  still  leafless  shrub  is  the  glossy 
arbutus  (misnamed  laurel),  with  its  fresh  suit  of  brilliant  green 
reflecting  every  ray  of  light  from  its  polished  surface.  The 
arbu'.is  grows  all  winter,  putting  forth  its  delicate  shoots  from 
Pecember  to  March,  and  flowering  later  in  spring.     Its  cheerful 


SOME   GENERAL  TALK    ABOUT   CLIMATE. 


79 


light  green  makes  it  a  pei'fect  complement  to  the  red  of  the 
currant  when  flowering ;  and  by  not  looking  at  all  like  an  ever- 
green, which  it  really  is,  bewilders  the  beholder,  who  sees  it 
growing  luxuriantly  all  along  the  rivei-  bunks,  as  to  the  time  of 
year. 

Here  is  another  elegant  shrub  that  does  its  growing  in  the 
winter,  and  takes  the  long  dry  summer  to  ripen  its  fruit  and  be 
beautiful  in, — ^the  Berberis  aquifolhim,  or  holly-leaved  barberry, 
commonly  known  as  the  Oregon  grape.  It  is  looking  as  fresh 
and  piquant  in  March  as  though  it  had  all  of  April  and  May 
behind  it.  All  around  us,  on  every  hand,  are  plants  and  shrubs 
or  trees  growing.  Behold  these  graceful  little  yew-trees,  two 
feet  high.  They  look  as  though  they  had  come  up  in  a  day,  so 
delicate  and  7iew  they  seem.  E::amine  the  ends  of  the  fir- 
boughs,  and  question  the  crab-apple,  the  sallal,  and  the  wild- 
cherry.  Do  you  see  that  line  of  silver  down  under  the  river- 
bank  ?  That  is  the  glisten  of  the  catkins  on  the  willows  {Salix 
acouleriana)  that  were  out  in  February.  It  makes  a  jiretty  con- 
trast to  the  red  stems  of  a  smaller  species  of  willow  which  grows 
along  the  very  margin  of  the  river,  with  its  roots  in  the  water. 
I  am  not  certain  of  the  variety. 

There  certainly  is  no  lack  of  intere8tin<r  thin<Ts  in  the  woods 
of  early  spring  in  Oregon.  To  my  eye,  with  such  a  variety  of 
green  and  really  growing  trees  and  shrubs,  it  is  a  relief  to  take 
into  the  view  a  gi'oup  of  naked  stems,  like  the  straight  and  light 
boles  of  the  asj)en  (Populus  tremuloides),  the  gray  trunks  of  the 
dogwood  {Cornus  mittalis),  or  the  rugged,  scragijy  forms  of  the 
water-loving  ash  (Fraxinus  Oregond).  Uniform  as  the  climate 
is,  and  liitb-  as  the  dropping  of  the  leaves  of  deciduous  trees 
affects  the  general  aspect  of  the  landscape,  there  is  yet  to  the 
critical  observer  a  sufficiently  marked  difference  in  seasons  to 
make  the  study  of  spring  and  summer,  and  autumn  :.nd  '^dnler, 
OR  shown  bj-  the  vegetation  of  fields  and  forests,  profitable  :'nd 
compensatory. 

It  is  ti'ue  that  one  cannot  come  back  from  a  walk  at  this  time 
of  year  iaden  with  armfuls  of  flowering  shrnbberj'-,  as  we  may 
in  six  weeks  from  now.  You  cannot,  with  safety,  stretch  your- 
self on  tiie  earth  and  indulge  iii  building  Spanish  castles,  as  in 
July  wcnther  it  is  j/lcnsant  to  do,  while  birds  sing  among  the 


)  1 

1  ! 


80 


ATLANTIS   AEISEN. 


branches  overhead,  the  nervous  little  squirrel  scolds  at  3-ou  from 
u  safe  distance,  or  the  only  half-confiding  quail  maintains  vigi 
lant  picket  duty  in  your  vicinity, — all,  as  you  think,  for  your 
gratification,  though  in  truth  you  are  regarded  by  these  little 
residents  as  an  alien  and  an  intruder.  The  beauties  that  shou'd 
invite  you  now  pass  away  or  lose  their  freshness  with  the  ap- 
proach of  dry  weather.  The  mosses  and  lichens  will  have  d'Med 
up  by  midsummer;  the  ferns  can  then  only  bo  found  in  xhe 
coolest  recesses  of  the  woods.  The  excess  of  foliage  then  'ivill 
close  m:  iiy  beautiful  vistas;  there  will  be  no  more  signft  of 
daily  growth,  no  tender  tints  on  the  leaflets.  The  year  will  be 
at  middle  age,  round  and  perfect,  but  with  the  touching  bloom 
of  its  youth  forever  past. 

There  will  be  a  corresponding  difference  in  the  color  of  the 
skies,  the  shape  of  the  clouds,  the  hues  of  the  water;  in  every 
part  of  nature.  Let  the  student  of  nature  learn  all  her  passing 
moods.  There  is  a  wealth  of  enjoyment  in  having  well  trained 
eyes  and  a  receptive  observation,  that  no  amount  of  gold  can 
purchase.  It  depends  on  the  individual.  Certain  of  ns  never 
come  into  our  kingdom,  which  is  the  kingdom  wherewith  the 
Creator  endowed  us  "in  the  beginning,"  because  wo  are  too 
sordid,  too  indolent,  or  too  effeminate.  Certain  other?)  of  us  are 
rejoiced  to  think  that  we  have  not  wholly  missed  of  it  through 
either  of  these  faults,  and  that  enjoyment  grows  with  posses- 
sion. 

But  to  return  to  the  subject  of  climate  per  se.  No  country 
which  has  not  water  enough  can  be  productive, — water  in  some 
form.  West  Oregon  gets  enough,  and  with  great  regularity. 
East  Oregon,  with  equal  regularity,  gets  too  little,  except  in  the 
bottom-lands,  where  irrigation  is  natural,  or  artifcial  irrigation 
easy.  The  soil  is  good  almost  anywhere.  What  then  ?  There 
must  and  will  be  developed  a  system  by  whic'i  water  oan  be 
brought  upon  the  arid  lands  of  East  Oregon  and  Washington. 
When  that  is  done  the  productiveness  of  the  elevated  plains  will 
equal  that  of  the  western  valleys,  and  be  mori  certain. 

Civilization  began  in  either  hemisphere  in  the  rainless  coun- 
tries of  Egypt,  Peru,  and  Mexico.  The  /eason  is  evident. 
Civilization  depends  on  the  ease  and  security  with  which  man 
harvests  the  fruits  of  bis  fields.     The  crop  in  the  Nile  Valley 


SOME   GENERAL  TALK    ABOUT   CLIMATE. 


81 


wa-^  unfailing,  from  the  certainty  and  uniform  duration  of  the 
Nile  overflow.  In  Peru,  from  the  constant  presence  of  moisture 
eliminated  from  the  atmosphere  in  the  f()rin  of  heavy  dews,  the 
cultivation  of  the  earth  repaid  man's  labor  surely.  On  the 
high  tablelands  of  Mexico  irrigation  was  necessary,  but  once 
accomplished,  there,  too,  agriculture  flourished  unfailingly;  and 
men,  instead  of  roaming  from  place  to  place,  settled  and  re- 
mained, until  civilization  arose  and  declined,  by  the  natural  pro- 
cesses of  the  growth  and  deoaj^  of  nations. 

In  these  countries,  superior  intelligence  also  resulted  from  the 
dryness  of  the  climate ;  as  it  is  well  known  that  a  pure,  dry  air 
i^i  stimulating  to  the  mental  faculties,  while  a  moist,  dull,  or 
cloudy  atmosphere  is  depressing.  It  is  evident  tiiat  men  in  a 
savage  state,  having  the  obstacles  of  want  and  ignorance  to 
overcome,  have  been  aided  by  these  circumstances.  Nor  are 
they  to  be  overlooked  in  considering  the  future  of  countries  in 
the  infancy  of  their  development.  The  Columbia  River  Plains, 
owing  to  their  elevation  above  the  level  of  the  draining  streams, 
will  probably  require  a  system  of  irrigation  by  artesian  v/ells, 
except  those  parts  bordering  on  mountains,  whence  water  cai\ 
be  conducted  with  comparative  ease.  With  this  addition  to  the 
amount  of  moisture  furnished  by  the  light  rains  and  occasional 
snows  of  winter,  this  great  extent  of  country,  now  given  up 
to  pasturage,  might  be  made  to  support  a  dense  population, 
•pi  )ducing  for  them  every  grain  and  fruit  of  the  temperate 
zone  in  the  highest  perfection. 

We  are  told  that  when  the  missionaries  went,  in  1836,  to  look 
for  a  suitable  place  for  a  mission  farm  and  station  in  the  Walla 
Walla  Valley,  they  estimated  that  there  wer-  .nKout  ten  acres  of 
cultivable  ground  within  thirty  miles  of  the  Columbia  River; 
and  that  •was  a  piece  of  creek-bottom  at  the  junction  of  a  small 
stream  with  the  Walla  Walla  River.  These  same  explorers 
decided  that  there  were  small  patches  of  six  or  ten  acres,  in 
places,  at  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Mountains  which  might  be 
farmed.  As  for  the  remainder  of  the  country,  it  was  a  desert 
waste,  whose  alkaline  properties  made  it,  unfit  for  any  use.  A 
few  years'  experience  changed  the  estimate  put  upon  the  soil 
of  the  Walla  Walla  Valley;  and  now  it  is  known  to  >/e  one  of 
the  most  fruitful  portions  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  ard  the  quality 

8 


Hi 


82 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


]:i 


m- 


I 


of  the  soil  really  inexhaustible, — its  alkaline  propertiog  supply- 
ing the  place  of  many  expensive  manures.  And  yet  the 
capacity  of  the  plains  for  cultivation  has  only  just  begun  to  be 
comprehended.  East  Washington  has  a  greater  urea  of  lands 
which  can  be  rendered  productive  by  irrigation  than  East 
Oregon,  but  the  area  is  large  in  both  of  the  States. 

The  hill-tops  in  transmontanc  Oregon  may  be  sown  to  grain 
and  safely  left  to  the  encouragement  of  the  soil  and  the  elements, 
the  former  having  more  clay  in  it  than  the  lower  bench  lands, 
and  the  atmosphere,  perhaps,  at  night  a  little  more  moisture. 
At  all  events,  good  crops  aie  harvested  on  this  higher  ground 
without  irrigation.  Although  in  imagination  we  behold  this 
country  as  it  will  appear  in  the  happy  future,  in  the  very 
present  hour  the  tourist  is  bound  to  prefer  the  western  division, 
which  is  alread}'  brought  to  perfection  in  so  many  particulars 
by  the  deft  hand  of  natui'e.  . 

All  that  has  been  said  of  Oregon  climate,  soil,  and  seasons 
applies  equally  to  Washington,  except  where  some  local  cause 
exists  for  a  difference.  For  instance,  there  is  a  greater  rain-fall 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  than  at  Gray's  Harbor,  or  other 
points  along  the  coast,  until  you  come  to  Neah  Bay,  at  the 
entrance  to  the  Strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  the  cause  of  the  excess 
of  moisture  being  the  same  in  both  instances, — namely,  a  wide 
opening  in  the  coast-line,  through  which  the  storm-winds  are 
drawn  as  through  a  funnel.  There  is  much  less  rain  among  the 
islands  in  the  archipelago  at  the  foot  of  Pnget  Sound  Knd  along 
the  northern  coast  of  the  mainland  of  Washington  than  in  the 
southern  counties,  whioh  are  affected  b}'  the  flliuute  of  the  Lower 
Columbia.  The  mean  annual  precipitation  at  Ol^  inpia  is  56.27 
inches,  and  at  Portland  50. S9  inches.  The  temperature  of  the 
Pnget  Sound  country  is  very  slightly  affected  by  latitude.  The 
mean  temperature  of  Portland  in  Oregon  for  the  month  of  De- 
cember varies  from  48°  to  43°,  although,  in  an  exceptional  year, 
it  has  been  as  low  as  31°,  und  in  tTanuary,  1888,  the  mercury 
fell  to  2*^  below  zero.  There  is  a  difference  of  about  two 
degrees,  mean  temperature,  lower,  between  Portland  and  Olym- 
pia,  at  the  head  of  Puget  Sound,  and  two  or  three  degrees  more 
at  Tacoma  and  point--  farther  north. 

The  lowest  temperature  for  the  last  five  years  at  Portland 


THE  WALLAMET   AND   ITS   CHIEF  TOWN. 


83 


was  9°  above  zero;  at  Tacoma,  5°  above.  The  highest  tem])er- 
aturo  in  the  same  time  was  97°  at  Portland  and  80°  at  Tacoma. 
The  mean  temperature  of  the  two  places  is,  Portland  52^  to  55°, 
and  Tacoma  55°  to  58°,  the  difference  being  slightly  in  favor 
of  the  latter  place,  taking  the  year  together,  owing  to  the 
influence  of  the  Sound  upon  the  climate,  and  to  its  sheltered 
position,  away  from  the  air-currents  before  spoken  of.  It  is 
common  to  find  roses  and  pansies  in  blossom  until  December  in 
either  place,  although  the  stranger  may  find  a  chill  in  the  moist 
atmosphere  which  he  declares  to  be  "cold,"  even  though  the 
mercury  does  not  recognize  it.  A  season  usually  braces  him  up 
to  endure  this,  and  he  soon  has  only  eulogies  for  an  even 
climate,  whose  only  +'aalt  is  that  it  is  not  cold  enough  to  be  dry 
in  the  Avinter  months. 


CHAP  TEE    VII. 

A   TALK   ABOUT   THE   WALLAMET  AND   ITS   CHIEF  TOWN. 

The  Wallamet — it  is  spelled  WiWamette  on  the  maps,  though 
the  common  usage  is  still  to  pronounce  the  word  as  it  was  origi- 
nally spelled— is  tiie  river  of  West  Oregon. 

Before  proceeding  to  my  observations  upon  this  portion  of 
the  country,  I  am  impelled  to  enter  my  protest  against  the 
violation  of  truth  and  good  taste  in  giving  to  so  sonorous  and 
musical  a  word  as  Wallamet  the  French  termination  of  ette, 
and,  furthermore,  substituting  an  i  for  the  nobler-sounding  a. 
The  word  is  Indian  in  origin,  and  although  the  early  writers 
differed  somewhat  in  their  spelling,  they  gave  it  the  native  pro- 
nunciation of  Wal-la-met,  the  a  in  both  syllables  being  very 
broad.  Spoken  pt-operly  it  is  a  beautiful  name,  but  as  corrupted 
it  is  a  senseless  jingle. 

The  river  has  two  mouths,  one  coming  into  the  Columbia 
where  Scappoose  Bay  sets  in,  just  above  St.  Helen,  the  other 
about  twenty  miles  above.  That  portion  of  the  river  '^elow  the 
upper  mouth  is  separated  from  the  Columbia  by  an  island  from 
one  mile  to  several  miles  in  breadth,  being  a  fertile  and  beauti- 


H 


84 


ATLANTIS    ARISEN. 


III 


!fit  ' 


ful  outlying  district  of  the  great  valley  io  which  it  belongs. 
The  original  name  of  this  island  was  Wappatoo,  from  tiio 
abundance  of  a  tuberous  root  of  that  name  {Sagittaria  sagitti- 
/oZw)  which  was  used  by  the  uutives  for  food.  The  first  settler 
here  was  one  Sauve,  a  French-Canadian,  after  whom  the  island 
was  thenceforth  called,  but  with  the  difference  in  spelling 
which  makes  it  Sauvie's  Island. 

To  this  lovely  insular  tract  the  Columbia  maintains  a  claim, 
and  asserts  its  right  annually  during  its  rise  to  submei-ge  a 
goodly  portion  of  it,  driving  the  inhabitants  to  vacate  their 
houses  for  a  period  of  two  or  three  weeks.  But  the  farmer.s 
ai'e  willing  to  be  thus  inconver.ionced  for  the  sake  of  the  crops 
obtained  from  the  quick  soil  after  the  flood  has  subsided.  On 
the  mainland  opposite  the  island  a  high  range  of  heavily- 
wooded  hills  from  the  Columbia  highlands  follows  along  the 
Wallamet  to  and  beyond  Portland,  but  receding  to  a  sufficient 
distance  to  leave  large  tracts  of  rich  land,  some  of  which  is 
subject  to  overflow,  but  much  of  which  is  valuable  for  firming. 

The  upper  mouth  of  the  Wallamet  ct^mes  out  between  the 
head  of  the  Sauve  Island  and  a  low  point  opposite  a  part  of 
the  peninsula  which  is  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  two 
rivers.  Lying  between  the  peninsula  and  the  Columbia  is  a 
group  of  small  islands,  all  densely  wooded  with  cotton-wood 
and  willow,  extending  also  along  the  Oregon  shore  of  the  Colum- 
bia for  several  miles,  being  separated  by  baj-ous  only  less  luxu- 
riantly fringed  with  trees  than  those  of  Florida  or  Louisiana, 
and  without  the  alligators  and  moccasin  snakes.  These  places, 
like  those  \vater-wa;,8  about  Astoria  and  Scappoose  Bay,  furnish 
extensive  hunting-groundp  'n  the  duck-shooting  season. 

Just  at  the  junction  of  t  e  WiilliuncI  and  Columbia  Rivers  I 
found  one  of  the  most  chr.mlhg  views  to  bo  had  in  Oregon. 
From  the  deck  of  a  steamer  passing  in  between  these  islands 
one  sees  the  vast  stretch  of  the  „reat  rivei-  behind  us,  and  the 
reach  of  the  one  before  us,  with  their  verdant  and  wooded  sliorns, 
the  Casuade  Bange  drawn  in  blue  on  I  ho  onstorn  hoi'iroii,  with 
the  white  peaks  of  St.  Helen,  Hood,  Adams,  and  Jcft'erHon 
rising  sharply  abo\e  it,  and  over  the  whole  the  rosy  glow  of 
sunset  tingeing  the  mountains,  making  the  blue  violet,  the  white 
^nk,  the  scene  being  relleded  from  the  river's  surface  as  from 


THE   AVALLAMET   AND   ITS   CHIEF   TOWN. 


6ft 


a  mirror,  snow-peaks,  islands,  and  all !     One  might  travel  far  to 
see  anything  finer. 

The  Wallamet,  unlike  tiie  more  majestic  Columbia,  divides 
nearly  in  half  a  level  valley,  but  the  prairies  do  not  come  to 
the  river-banks  for  a  considerable  distance.  This  valley  is 
enclosed  on  the  east  side  by  the  Cascade  Range,  on  the  west 
side  by  the  Coast  Eange,  and  on  the  south  by  a  cross-range  of 
spurs  from  either  side,  being  left  open  only  on  the  north,  where 
it  is  cut  off  by  the  Columbia  River,  but  from  whit-h  it  is  hidden 
by  a  forest  extending  for  nearly  twenty  miles  from  the  river 
southward.  This  forest  covers  not  only  the  highlands  as  far  as 
the  Falls  of  the  Wallamet,  but  also  the  low  sandy  plains  which 
form  the  lower  section  of  the  valley.  From  this  description  of 
the  north  end  of  the  Wallamet  Valley,  coupled  with  the  account 
already  given  of  the  Columbia,  it  is  easy  to  appreciate  the  cor- 
rectness of  the  poet's — 

"  Continuous  woods, 
Where  rolls  the  Oregon," 

'as  well  as  some  of  the  difficulties  which  beset  the  Oregon 
pioneers;  and  to  understand  why  the  early  settlers  travelled 
in  canoes  from  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  or  from  The  Dalles, 
to  the  heart  of  the  valley  before  even  b'jtaking  themselves  to 
a  horse, — a  wagon  being  unthought  of  for  travel. 

When  wo  have  passed  the  head  of  Sauve  Island  wo  find  these 
river-banks  more  populous  than  those  of  the  Columbia.  On  the 
right  hand,  going  up,  is  the  town  of  Linnton,  located  forty-seven 
years  ago  by  Hon,  Peter  H.  Burnett,  author  of  "Recollections 
of  a  Pioneer,"  and  first  governor  of  California,  a  pleasant 
writer  and  an  irreproachable  man.  Nearly  opposite  Linnton, 
which,  by  the  by,  was  named  in  honor  of  that  Missouri  senator 
who  fought  so  long  and  persistently  for  the  Oregon  donation 
law,  is  the  town  of  St.  John,  occupying  probably  about  the  site 
selected  for  a  city  by  that  eccentric,  if  not  demented.  Hall  J. 
Kelley,  who  organized  in  New  England  an  immigration  society 
to  bj'ing  settlers  to  Oregon  in  1832.  Think  of  that,  you  whose 
knowledge  of  this  region  leads  you  to  fancy  it  a  terra  incognita! 
Poor  Kelley  had  a  lugubrious  experience,  being  taken  for  a 
horse-thief  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  harshly  treated. 
Yet  he  was  very  near  the  truth  in  his  views  and  prognosti^a- 


86 


ATI^NTIS   AllISEN. 


I 


tions  conceniin^  this  country.  It  Wus  not  the  company's  horaos 
he  was  after,  but  tlie  eailh  under  the  feet  of  that  powerful 
corporation,  whose  officers  had  reason  to  wish  liim  away. 

At  Linnton  there  is  a  sineitor  for  roducinij;  ores  from  the 
mines  of  Eastern  Oregon  and  other  districts.  Tlie  Northern 
Pucitic  Ilailroad  (l^orthiml  branch)  runs  along  the  river  here, 
and  passes  througli  Linnton,  on  its  way  north  to  the  crossing 
of  the  Cohimbia  at  Kahima,  on  the  Washington  side.  I  toolc 
a  ride  over  it  auvly  in  May,  when  the  tall  chcrr}-  orchards  of 
the  farms  and  the  dogwoods  of  the  forest  vied  in  the  snowy 
whiteness  of  their  abundant  flowering,  and  the  rounder-topped 
plum-trees  filled  in  the  spaces,  while  golden  dandelions  spaiigled 
the  road-side,  and  away  across  the  reaches  of  river  and  wood 
symmetrical  St.  Helen  rose  grandly  from  the  horizon,  half 
veiled  in  the  mists  of  early  morning. 

Along  the  margin  of  the  Wallamet  are  groups  of  handsome 
oak-trees,  which  grow  and  thrive  on  the  bottomlands  where 
a  fir-tree  cannot  live.  In  fact,  a  fir  is  built  to  shed  even  the 
rains  from  about  its  roots,  while  its  foliage  is  so  i'uU  of  pitch 
that  water  cannot  penetrate  it.  Thus  cunningly  has  nature 
provided  for  the  safety  of  its  creations. 

It  ia  about  six  miles  from  St.  John  to  Portland,  but  does  not 
seem  so  far,  the  shores  being  inhabited,  and  the  evidences  of 
business  increasing  with  every  revolution  of  the  steamer's  stern- 
wheel. 

Portland. 

The  chief  city  of  Oregon  is  set  in  an  amphitheatre  of  hills, 
which  rise  abruptly  at  a  distance  of  little  more  than  a  mile  i  :om 
the  river  at  its  widest  part.  But  for  the  low  nature  of  the 
trround  it  miirht  be  extended  down  as  far  as  Linnton  and  its 
manufactories;  f)robably  will  be  when  the  necessity  for  more 
room  forces  business  down  river.  The  town  will  also  grow  up 
river,  where  there  are  choice  sites  for  residences,  and  back  over 
the  heights,  which  are  already  being  quite  thickly  built  up. 
But  the  overflow  of  population  will  go  to  the  east  side  of  the 
river,  where  East  Portland  and  Albina,  with  their  numerous 
additions,  are  even  now  spreading  over  a  wide  area,  the  land 
on  this  side  being  level  across  to  the  Columbia,  a  distance  of 
si^  miles. 


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THE   WALLAMET  AND   ITS   CHIEF   TOWN. 


87 


The  mistake  of  the  builders  of  Portland  was  in  not  reserving 
the  river  fi'out  for  a  levee.  The  approach  to  the  city  is  rendered 
unsightly  by  the  ugly  rears  of  stores  and  warehouses,  and  by 
the  peculiar  appearance  of  the  two-storied  wharves,  constructed 
for  convenience  of  landing  during  extreme  high  and  low  water. 
Without  these  unpleasant  features,  Portland  would  present 
from  the  river  a  very  attractive  picture. 

The  site  of  Portland  was  first  taken  up  in  1843  by  a  man 
named  Overton, — a  Tennesseean, — who  sold  his  claim  the  fol- 
lowing year  to  Messrs.  Lovcjoy  and  Pettygrove,  who  erected  a 
log-house  at  the  foot  of  what  is  now  Washington  Street,  and 
began  to  clear  the  land,  which  was  surveyed  into  lots  and  blocks 
in  1845.  A  second  building  for  a  store  was  erected  that  winter, 
near  the  first  one.  It  was  not,  like  the  dwelling,  of  logs,  but  a 
frame  covered  with  shingles,  and  went  by  the  name  of  the 
"Shingle  Store"  long  after  more  ambitious  competitors  had 
arisen. 

The  growth  of  the  embr3'o  town  was  by  no  means  rapid,  as 
the  year  of  its  "taking  up"  witnessed  the  first  considerable 
immigration  to  Oregon.  Of  these  one  thousand  immigrants,  a 
few  stopped  in  Oregon  City,  the  recognized  capital  of  the  Ter- 
ritory, and  the  remainder  scattered  over  the  fertile  plains,  in 
quest  of  the  mile  square  of  land  for  which  they  had  come  to 
this  far-off  country.  The  same  continued  to  be  true  of  the 
steadily-increasing  immigration  of  the  following  years ;  so  that 
it  was  not  until  1848  that  Portland  attained  to  the  dignity  of  a 
name. 

Of  the  two  owners,  one,  Mr.  Pettygrove,  was  from  Maine, 
and  desired  the  bantling  to  be  called  after  the  chief  town  of  his 
native  State.  With  the  same  laudable  State  love,  Mr.  Lovejoy, 
who  was  from  Massachusetts,  insisted  on  calling  the  town  Bos- 
ton. To  end  the  dispute  a  penny  was  tossed  up,  and,  Mr.  Petty- 
grove winning,  the  future  city  was  christened  Portland.  When 
it  is  taken  into  consideration  that  Portland,  Maine,  is  nearly 
two  degrees  farther  south  than  Port!  -"d,  Oregon,  and  that  roses 
are  blossoming  in  the  gardens  of  the  latter,  while  snow  lies 
white  and  winter  winds  whistle  over  the  leafless  gardens  of  the 
former,  the  older  city  has  no  occasion  to  feel  concerned  for  the 
oomfort  of  its  godchild. 


ij 


88 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


After  being  named,  Portland  changed  o\vnei*8  again.  Mr. 
Pettygrove  bought  out  his  partner,  and  afterwards  sold  the 
whole  property  to  Mr.  Daniel  H.  Lownsdalo,  receiving  for  it 
tive  thousand  dollars  in  leather,  tanned  by  Mr.  Lownsdale  in  a 
tannery  adjoining  tlie  town  site.  In  1848,  or  before  the  gold 
discoveries,  money  was  almost  unknown  in  Oregon ;  orders  on 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  the  Methodist  Mission,  and  wheat, 
being  the  currency  of  the  country.  Mr.  Lownsdalo,  it  seems, 
had  the  honor  of  introducing  a  new  circulating  medium,  which 
was  Oregon-tanned  leather. 

Still  another  change  in  the  proprietorship  occurred  in  1849, 
Lownsdale  selling  an  interest  in  the  town  to  W.  W.  Chapman 
and  Stephen  Coffin.  During  this  year — there  being  now  about 
one  hundred  inhabitants — the  Portlanders  organized  an  associa- 
tion and  elected  trustees  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  building 
to  bo  used  as  a  meeting-house  for  religious  services,  and  for  a 
school-house.  It  was  used  also  as  a  court-room,  and  continued 
to  serve  the  public  in  its  triple  capacity  for  several  years. 

The  gold  excitement  of  1848-49  for  a  time  had  a  tendency  to 
check  im])rovements  in  Oregon  ;  but  finally  the  wandering  gold- 
seekers  began  to  return  and  cultivate  their  neglected  farms. 
California  demanded  grain  and  lumber ;  and  these  thing.J|  Oregon 
could  furnish  in  abundance.  Vessels  now  came  frequently  to 
Portlan  1  from  San  Francisco  and  tiie  Sandwich  Islands;  and  in 
1850  Couch  &  Co.,  of  Portland,  despatched  a  vessel — the  brig 
"Emma  Preston" — to  China,  thus  fulfilling  in  part  the  dream 
of  Jefferson  and  Benton.  Couch's  Addition  was  also  laid  out  this 
year,  and  the  pioneer  steamboat  of  Oregon,  the  Lot  Whitcomb 
was  launched  on  Christmas  day,  at  Milwaukee,  to  run  between 
Portland  and  Oregon  City.  The  Weekly  Oregonian  was  started 
at  Portland  the  same  year  by  Thomas  J.  Dryer. 

In  January,  1851,  the  city  was  incorporated,  witn  1000  inhab- 
itants, Hugh  D.  O'Bryant  being  chosen  mayor.  In  March 
began  the  regular  monthly  mail  service  between  Portland  and 
San  Francisco,  per  the  steamship  Columbia,  Captain  Dall.  Two 
years  later  the  taxable  property  of  the  town  was  valued  at 
61,195,034,  or  about  half  the  value  of  its  real  and  personal 
propert}'.  From  this  time  the  growth  of  Portland  was  healthj' 
.and  uniform.      During  the  mining  excitement  of  1864,  '5,  '6, 


THE   WALLAMET   AND   ITS   CHIEF   TOWN. 


89 


there  was  a  more  hurried  growth  and  moi'e  inflated  condition 
of  trade,  which,  however,  subsided  with  the  cause.  In  1870  the 
population  of  Portland  was  under  ten  thousand,  but  the  pro- 
jjortion  of  wealth  to  population  was  greater  than  any  town 
in  the  United  States,  paying  taxes  on  six  million  dollars  of 
property  assessed  at  one-third  of  its  value.  From  that  time 
forward  the  growth  of  the  city  has  been  steady  rather  than 
forced.  According  to  the  census  of  1890  the  population  of 
Portland  proper  is  47,294,  and  its  suburbs  on  the  oast  side  of  the 
river  contain — East  Portland,  10,481 ;  Albina,  5,104. 

A  noticeable  feature  of  Portland  is  the  snug  and  homelike 
appearance  of  the  city.  Tne  streets  are  narrow — too  narrow, 
•indeed,  for  the  display  of  the  fine  structures  already  erected  and 
in  progress ;  the  squares  are  small,  affording  frequent  streets 
and  corner  lots — so  small  that  many  of  Portland's  capitalists 
have  appropriated  a  whole  one  to  themselves,  giving  a  perspec- 
tive to  their  tusleful  mansions  which  their  business  houses  lack. 
The  absence  of  long  blocks  of  uniform  structures  must  ever 
deprive  the  city  of  a  certain  metropolitan  solidity  of  apj^ear- 
ance,  but  the  airiness  and  inuividuality  of  short  blocks  constitute 
one  of  its  chief  attractions. 

Portland  follows  the  rule  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  and  builds 
its  residences  of  wood,  which  is  cheaper,  more  rapidly  built, 
and  more  conformable  to  the  climate  than  brick  and  stone. 
The  sun  is  a  necessity  everywhere  along  the  coast,  and  a  wooden 
house  is  quickly  warmed  through  by  it,  while  brick  houses 
exclude  the  heat,, and  the  winters  are  seldom  cold  enough  to 
make  thick  walls  desirable  for  protection  from  frost.  There  is 
not  in  Portland  yet  any  great  leaning  toward  the  half  medireval 
style  adopted  in  some  of  the  trans-montane  cities,  which  indeed 
is  out  of  place  in  wooden  structuies  and  not  consonant  either 
with  the  material  of  the  houses,  the  climate,  or  the  spirit  of  the 
age,  which  eschews  ''  Mariannes  in  a  moated  grange,"  Juliets  in 
hooded  bo  Ironies,  and  every  appearance  of  constraint.  Even 
the  colonial  style,  which  is  much  affected,  seems  out  of  place  in' 
close  neighborhood  with  Portland's  elegant  High  School  build- 
ing. Medical  College,  or  the  City  Hall  now  building.  The  most 
that  can  be  claimed  is  that  it  gives  variety  and  individuality  to 
indulge  in  these  ai'chiteetural  vagaries. 


90 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


I  i 


' 


:    ( 


In  the  matter  of  churches,  schools,  public  business  buildings, 
both  wealth  and  good  taste  are  manifest.  Among  the  former, 
wnich  are  numerous,  the  First  Presbyterian,  Grrce  Methodist, 
Trinity  (Episcopal),  and  the  Jewish  Synagogue,  Beth  Israel,  are 
handsome  as  they  are  diverse.  Of  private  schools,  St.  Mary  s 
Academy  (Catholic),  for  girls ;  St.  Michael's  College,  for  boys ; 
Bishop  Scott  Military  Academy,  for  boys,  and  St.  Helen's  Hall, 
for  girls,  both  Episcopal,  are  the  chief  Besides  these,  there  aro 
two  business  colleges,  two  medical  colleges,  and  the  law  depart- 
ment of  the  State  University.  The  public  schools  of  Portland, 
of  which  there  are  thirteen,  are  large  and  pleasantly  located, 
and  the  work  done  in  them  leaves  little  to  be  desired  in  the  way 
of  public  instruction.  The  High-School  work,  particularly  the 
drawing,  which  I  chanced  to  see  at  a  Teachers'  National  Asso- 
ciation a  few  years  ago,  was  equal  to  the  best  exhibited  by  any 
of  the  States. 

The  Portland  Chamber  of  Commerce,  now  in  course  of  erec- 
tion, is  a  handsome  six-story  edifice,  surmounted  by  a  square 
tower  over  the  entrance.  The  new  Daily  Oregonian  building  is 
seven  stories  high,  with  a  tall,  square  clock-tower  and  flag-staff, 
which  will  be  visible  above  its  less  pretentious  neighbors  from 
the  outlying  parts  of  the  city.  I  might  go  on,  citing  evidences 
of  the  taste  and  the  means  to  gratify  it  which  one  meets  at 
every  hand  in  this  verj-  charming  city,  but  resist  the  inclination 
upon  the  reflection  that  I  may  lay  myself  open  to  the  suspicion 
of  being  claquer  for  Portland,  whereas  1  am  aware  that  other 
cities  in  this  Pacific  Northwest  share  in  the  desire  and  the 
means  to  be  beautiful. 

I  cannot  refrain,  however,  fiom  mentioning  that  pride  of 
Portlanders,  the  Hotel  Portland,  which  completely  fills  one  of 
the  city  squares,  and  then  has  not  room  enough.  It  faces  the 
Custom-House  and  Post-Oflftce,  and  has  on  one  side  of  it  that 
tine  temple  to  Thespis  known  as  the  Marquam  Grand,  having 
been  built  by  one  of  Portland's  pioneers  of  that  name.  There 
is  something  of  a  history  to  the  Hotel  Portland,  which  was 
projected  by  Henry  Villard  just  before  the  crash  in  his  affairs 
which  followed  the  opening  of  the  Northern  Pacific  to  Portland 
via  the  Columbia  River.  At  that  time  the  Central  School  occu- 
pied this  block,  and  when  Villard  purchased  it  the  building 


THE   WALLAMET   AND   ITS   CHIEF   TOWN. 


91 


was  removed  across  the  street  to  the  present  site  of  the  theatre. 
Work  was  then  begun  upon  the  foundations  of  the  hotel,  but  was 
soon  suspended,  and  the  premises  remained  an  unsii-hlly  spec- 
tacle in  the  heart  of  the  town  for  several  years,  during  which 
the  Oregonian  labored  faithfully  to  spur  on  its  completion  by 
the  citizens,  but  stock  in  the  enterprise  was  slowly  taken  until 
the  magnates  of  the  Southern  Pacific,  on  the  completion  of  the 
Oregon  and  California  road,  bluntly  declared  that  neither  they 
nor  any  other  persons  of  distinction  would  ever  care  to  visit 
Portland  unless  modern  hotels  wore  erected  and  maintained 
according  to  modern  taste  in  such  matters.  And  what  was  the 
result  ?  Whereas,  before,  every  man  of  means  was  a  householder, 
as  he  should  be,  straightway  the  Hotel  Portland  was  completed 
it  became  the  fashion  to  live  at  this  hostelry  instead  of  one's 
own  house,  until  tourists  were  in  danger  of  being  crowded  out 
by  the  homo  patronage,  and  the  manager,  one  of  the  world- 
renowned  Lelands,  was  forced  to  discourage  permanent  board- 
ing. A  secondary  result  was  the  erection  of  more  hotels  and 
improved  hotel  service  generally  . 

Another  object  of  which  the  city  is  justly  proud  is  its  Indus- 
trial Fair  building,  where  is  held  an  annual  exhibit  of  the  nat- 
ural and  cultivated  productions  of  the  State,  its  manuftictu'res, 
and  works  of  art.  It  is  the  largest  on  the  coast,  and  the  exhi- 
bition is  surprisingly  interesting  as  well  as  remarkable  for  bulk. 
Many  of  the  exhibits  are  permanently  preser%'ed  at  the  Board 
of  Immigration,  which  at  present  occupies  rented  rooms,  but  is 
to  be  provided  with  more  convenient  quarters  in  the  near  future. 

This  Board  of-  Immigration  is  doing  a  good  work,  if  only  to 
remind  the  present  inhabitants  of  the  State  of  their  possible 
achievements.  For  strangers  it  furnishes  many  atti-actiona  and 
answers  many  questions.  For  instance,  in  the  centre  of  the 
floor  is  a  "  kiosk"  constructed  of  the  best  specimens  of  native 
grains  in  the  stalk, — quite  an  elegant  work  of  art.  In  the 
centre  is  placed  a  table  laden  with  specimens  of  the  choicest 
varieties  of  fruit  and  vegetables  contributed  by  the  orehardists 
and  gardeners  of  all  pans  of  Oregon.  There  are  several  tables 
arranged  across  the  room  for  more  general  displays  of  fruit,  and 
shelving  around  the  walls  containing  glass  jars  filled  with  seed- 
grains  and  early  fruits,  each  labelled  with  the  name  and  locality 


n 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


1  i! 


1 1| 


where  raised,  beautifully  polished  slabs  of  cabinet  woods,  and 
wood  in  the  rough,  and  collections  of  minerals  and  metals,  from 
building-stone  and  coal  to  silver  and  gold.  Thus  the  visitor  is 
able  to  secure  in  a  few  hours'  lime  a  knowledge  of  the  resources 
of  the  country  which  it  would  require  months  of  travel  and 
even  toil  to  obtain. 

In  studying  the  development  of  a  country  its  social  traits  and 
institutions  offer  the  most  interesting  points  of  observation  as 
indications  of  the  original  character  of  the  founders ;  and  not 
only  the  city  under  consideration,  but  all  Oregon  gives  evidence 
of  its  missionary  breeding.  Portland,  west  and  east,  has  sixty- 
three  churches,  twelve  of  which  are  Methodist  Episcopal,  eight 
Presbyterian,  seven  Baptist,  six  Roman  Catholic,  six  Protestant 
Episcopal,  five  Congregational,  five  Lutheran,  three  Evangelical, 
two  Unitarian,  two  Hebrew,  two  Adventist,  the  remain  ".er  being 
divided  among  the  Christian,  Non-Sectarian,  Dutch  Reformed, 
United  Brethren,  and  United  Presbyterian.  Portland  is  the 
see  of  a  Roman  Catholic  bishopric  embracing  the  State  of  Ore- 
gon, The  city  has  the  usual  number  of  secret  orders  to  be 
found  in  any  city,  half  a  hundred  miscellaneous  societies  and 
clubs,  and  numerous  places  of  amusement. 

I  have  found  in  this  far  northwestern  city  the  most  discrimi- 
nating charities.  It  has  two  excellent  hospitals,  one  Catholic 
and  one  Protestant,  well  equipped  for  relieving  suffering.  Its 
Children's  Home,  under  the  patronage  of  ihe  Ladies'  Relief 
Society,  is  indeed  a  home,  where  no  hint  of  pauperism  is  per- 
mitted to  intrude ;  where  unsightly  uniforms  are  not  required 
or  allowed;  where  infants  ai'e  furnished  with  toys,  play-rooms, 
and  kindergarten  teaching,  and  older  children  with  books  and 
instruction  at  the  public  schools.  This  is  said  to  be  one  of  the 
best-managed  institutions  in  the  United  States. 

Portland  ladies  have  also  established  a  Women's  Union,  or 
boarding-house  for  underpaid  or  unemployed  women,  where 
board,  lodging,  and  laundrying  costs  from  three  to  seven  dollars 
per  week,  and  where  the  needy  are  entertained  while  looking 
for  employment.  The  table  is  good,  the  rooms  comfortable, 
some  even  large  and  well  furnished ;  there  is  a  piano  in  the 
parlor,  and  lectures  or  other  social  entertainments  are  furnished 
frequentl}-.     As  the  patrons  of  these  benefactions  take  a  pride 


THE   WALLAMET    AND   ITS   CHIEF   TOWN. 


98 


in  thoiu  work,  it  is  liUoly  to  continue  and  sorvo  a»  an  example 
to  younger  communities. 

It  is  greatly  to  the  credit  of  a  city  hewn  out  of  a  wilderness, 
as  Portland  was,  that  it  early  established  a  public  library  which 
has  grown  until  it  contains  sixteen  thousand  volumes,  besides 
regularly  receiving  two  hundred  periodicals.  For  many  years 
one  of  the  city's  pioneers  has  given  the  rent  of  a  comfortable 
suite  of  rooms  over  his  bank  for  use  by  the  Library  Association, 
and  the  United  States  district  Judge  a  large  measure  of  his  time 
to  the  selection  of  books;  and  recently  a  Portland  lady,  dying, 
left  a  bequest  to  bo  applied  to  the  erection  of  a  suitable  building 
for  library  purposes,  which  is  now  in  course  of  construction. 

Banks  are  surprisingly  frequent  on  the  streets  of  this  city. 
There  are  already  sixteen,  many  of  them  in  handsome  struc- 
tures, and  the  seventeenth  is  being  erected.  This  brings  us  to 
the  consideration  of  capital  and  trade,  and  of  Portland  as  a  com- 
mercial emporium.  According  to  the  published  statements  of 
the  boards  of  trade  and  immigration,  the  capital  at  disposal  in 
the  banking-houses  is  820,478,750,  while  tiie  capital  employed 
in  the  wholesale  and  jobbing  trade  is  about  $05,000,000,  divided 
among  a  lai-go  number  of  hou.ses,  one  hundred  of  which  em|)loy 
from  8200,000  to  81,000,000  or  more.  The  trade  of  Portland 
has  increased  from  $50,000,000  in  1886  to  8115,000,000  in  1889. 

These  figures  are  remarkable  as  compared  with  the  era  of 
recent  growth.  But  it  must  be  taken  into  account  tliat  a  long 
period  of  incubation  of  this  wealth  was  enjoyed  while  the 
resources  of  the  large  area  of  which  Portland  was  the  trade- 
centre  were  being  gradually  developed.  Thus  trade  was  con- 
servative and  safe,  and  failures  in  wholesale  houses  or  banks  were 
unknown.  The  leading  grocery  house  in  this  city,  which  does 
business  to  the  extent  of  many  millions  annuallj',  never  employs 
travelling  salesmen,  although  competition  by  Eastern  houses 
has  recently  compelled  other  merchants  to  do  so. 

For  conservatism,  which  is  annoying  to  the  newer  men,  who 
gird  against  it,  the  non-conservatives  have  a  new  word, — namely, 
"  mossbackism."  But  the  "  mossbacks"  have  the  best  of  it, 
undoubtedly,  in  their  day  and  generation.  What  the  ultimate 
outcome  of  their  policy  may  be  remains  to  the  historian  to 
relate.     Whether  or  not  Portland  is  to  be  forever  the  metropolis 


94 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


I  ' 


[I 


of  Oregon,  ov  of  the  Northwest,  will  be  determined  in  the  next 
ten  years.  Already  it  has  duiigorously  active  rivals  on  the 
north,  which  will  striiirglo  fur  the  Hupromacy ;  but  even  if  that 
were  lost,  this  city  must  be  to  the  Wallamet  Valley  what 
iSt.  Louis  is  to  the  Mississippi  or  (Cincinnati  to  the  Ohio  valleys. 

The  future  magnitude  of  Portland  depends  upon  its  trans- 
portation facilities,  which  at  present  are  good,  and  seemingly 
destined  to  bo  greatly  increased.  But  within  the  memory  of 
this  generation  it  depended  entirely  upon  boats  of  all  sizes, 
from  the  canoe  to  the  sailing  ship  and  ocean  steamer. 

The  history  of  transportation  in  Oregon  is  interesting.  The 
Wallamet  Valley  being  the  first  and  for  many  years  the  only 
part  settled,  and  being,  as  previously  described,  surrounded  by 
mountains  except  at  its  north  end,  where  it  opened  on  the 
Columbia,  and  not  accessible  there  except  by  boats,  travel  to 
the  settlements  was  attended  with  much  toil  and  difficulty. 
Neither  the  Columbia  nor  the  Wallamet  was  open  to  continuous 
navigation,  the  latter  being  obstructed  by  falls  twenty  feet  in 
height.  At  the  falls,  it  is  true,  there  grow  up  a  little  town  ;  but 
as  all  the  open  or  agi'icultural  land  was  some  distance  above 
this  place,  a  portage  had  to  be  made  hero  of  a  mile  or  two,  and 
always  at  a  risk  of  accident.  As  early  as  1846-47  there  were 
two  or  three  freight-boats  rigged  with  oars  and  sails  on  the 
Wallamet  above  the  falls.  In  1850  the  first  steamboat  was 
launched  and  run  below  the  falls,  which  was  very  soon  followed 
by  others,  making  trips  to  Astoria  and  Vancouver,  and  during 
the  autumn  immigration  to  the  Cascades  to  assist  tho  new- 
comers in  reaching  the  vallej'.  Then  tho  Indian  troubles  made 
necessary  transportation  above  the  Cascades,  and  above  The 
Dalles,  inducing  first  the  building  of  sail  and  next  of  small 
steamboats  on  those  sections  of  the  river.  Finally  a  number 
of  the  individual  owners  combined,  and  an  organization  resulted 
in  the  incornoration  in  1862  of  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation 
Company,  Captain  J.  C.  Ainsworth,  president.  To  this  company 
belonged  in  its  early  years  most  of  tho  now  solid  men  of  Port- 
land. It  was  well  officered,  conservative,  but  not  unenterpris- 
ing, and  for  many  years  held  Oregon  in  the  palm  of  its  hand. 
It  had  a  monopoly  of  the  Columbia,  having  j'ielded  tho  Walla- 
met to  the  People's  Transportation  Company,  and,  in  order  to 


THE    WALLAMET   AND   ITS  CHIEF  TOWN. 


96 


make  business  for  itsoU",  used  a  goodly  share  of  its  earnings  in 
devolo])ing  mining  and  wlioat-growing  cast  of  the  Cascade 
Mountains. 

By  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company  were  built  the 
first  raih'oads  in  the  country, — namely,  the  portages  of  five 
miles  at  the  Cascades  anil  iiftecn  miles  at  The  Dalies.  ]t  also 
put  some  money  into  the  Oregon  Central  on  the  went  side  of 
the  Wallamet,  which  was  turned  over  to  Hollada}',  of  the 
Oregon  and  Califoi-nia,  on  the  east  side,  and  both  are  now  a 
j)art  of  the  Southern  Pacific  system. 

The  stock  of  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company  was 
principally  in  the  hands  of  three  men,  J.  C.  Ainsworth,  R.  R. 
Thompson,  and  S.  Cr.  Reed,  when  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad 
Company  made  overtures  for  its  purchase  and  did  purchase, 
the  former  owners  retaining  a  fourth  of  the  stock,  Captain 
Ainsworth  being  made  manager  and  a  director  in  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railroad  Company,  very  fortunately,  as  it  happened,  for 
when  the  failure  of  Jay  Cooko  &  Co.  suspended  construction 
and  endangered  the  land  grant,  the  old  officers  of  the  Oregon 
Steam  Navigation  Company  came  to  the  rescue  and  comi)leted 
the  road  from  the  Columbia  to  Puget  Sound  in  time  to  save 
the  grant.  The  failure  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  having 
thrown  on  the  Eastern  market,  where  its  value  was  not  known, 
three-fourths  of  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  stock,  the  gen- 
tlemen above  named  emploj-od  agents  to  buy  it  up,  and  once 
more  obtained  control.  They  then  built  new  and  handsome 
boats  for  the  Columbia  trade,  and  also  obtained  the  trade  of 
the  Wallamet  River  by  purchasing  the  property  of  the  Willa- 
mette Transportation  Company,  successors  to  the  People's  Com- 
pany, and  became  very  powerful. 

In  1879  Henry  Yillard,  who  had  secured  control  of  the  Oregon 
and  California,  and  who  had  conceived  the  plan  of  a  road  along 
the  Columbia  and  across  Idaho,  finding  the  Oregon  Steam  Nav- 
igation Company  in  his  way,  made  a  proposition  to  purchase 
their  steamers  and  portages,  and  with  these,  his  steamships  and 
railways,  to  form  a  company  to  be  called  the  Oregon  Railway 
and  Navigation  Company.  This  he  was  able  to  do,  and  the 
X'oad  he  projected  is  now  leased  to  the  Union  Pacific,  and  is 
part  of  the  Oregon  Short  Line  through  Idaho,  connecting  with 


06 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


tilt!  Union  Pacific's  main  lino.  Moanwhilo  tho  Orogou  Sieain 
Navigation  Company  has  retire  to  enjoy  the  results  of  good 
iiiaiiagcnu'iit  in  other  lines  of  invcslnuMit. 

'riio  railroads  that  centre  at  Pcjrtland  are  those  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  system,  formerly  known  as  the  Oregon  and 
California  and  the  Oregon  Central,  which  form  a  junction  one 
hundred  and  ten  miles  south.  The  Southern  Pacific  gives  con 
nectlon  with  all  the  California  lines  and  trans-continental  roads. 
The  Union  Pacific,  as  ahove  stated,  has  direct  through  connec- 
tion with  tl»e  East.  The  Northern  Pacific's  Columbia  River 
ln-anch  starts  at  Portl«;i'i  and  i'ollows  the  river  to  a  point  oppo- 
site the  Cowlitz  VaUey,  where  it  crosses  by  moans  of  a  ferry 
and  runs  north  to  Tacoma,  whence  its  main  lino  crosses  the 
Cascade  Ran^e,  and  makes  a  long  detour  southeast  via  Pasco 
and  northeast  via  the  Panhandle  of  Idaho  before  reaching  Mon- 
tana, where  it  makes  another  long  angle  southeast  and  noith- 
west  before  it  reaches  the  parallel  on  which  it  stretches  out  fo" 
St.  Paul.  These  routes  involve  sight-seeing  over  a  vast  scope 
of  country,  embracing  all  the  groat  mountain  ranges  on  tho 
Pacific  Slope,  and  their  commercial  advantages  nuvy  easily  by 
ai^prehendod. 

The  Canadian  Pacific  also  furnishes  eastern  connection  with 
Portland  by  tho  outside  steamer  route  to  Victoria,  or  by  the 
Northern  Pacific  and  Puget  Sound  steamers  to  the  western 
terminus  of  the  road  in  British  Columbia.  The  Great  Northern 
also  reaches  Portland  by  using  the  Union  Pacific's  lines  in  East 
Washington,  thus  giving  tho  tourist  his  choice  of  five  trans- 
continental routes.  Besides  those  great  lines  there  are  two 
narrow  gauge  roads  which  run  through  the  farming  districts  in 
the  Wallamet  Valley  and  contribute  to  tho  business  of  the  me- 
tropolis,— the  Portland  and  Willamette  Valley  Railroad,  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river,  and  the  Oregonian  Railway,  on  the  west 
side.  These  roads  have  recently  been  added  to  tho  Southern 
Pacific  system  and  are  being  made  standard  gauge.  The  Oregon 
Pacific  is  an  uncompleted  road  extending  at  present  from  Ya- 
quina  Bay,  on  tho  coast  of  Oregon,  across  the  middle  of  the 
Wallamet  Valley  to  the  Cascade  Mountains.  Its  route  is  sur- 
veyed across  East  Oregon  to  a  connection  with  th  '  'aion 
Pacific  at  Ontario,  near  the  Idaho  line. 


THE   WALLAMET   AND    ITS   CHIEF   TOWN. 


5)7 


A  niin-ow-i^au^o  |>!iHsoii<ror  lino  (•(»miocls  I'orlliiiul  with  Van- 
couvor  by  u  fbrry  atross  tin-  Coltiinliia,  and  a  .stfaiii-tnotdr  lino 
runs  from  Kast  Portland  to  St.  Joiins  down  tho  Wallamot. 
Cablo  and  oleclric  lines  niaUo  nrbaii  and  siihnrljan  transit  cftiy 
and  rapid.  And  all  this  dcviloitinciit  lia>>  taUi'n  placo  within  a 
period  whieli  ivniinds  (Mio  of  .lafU  and  his  lieaii-Htallv. 

East  Portland  and  Alhina  iir  ; '•acticully  one  town,  although 
forming  two  distinct  nmnicipalitit  t,  vhich  aro  soon  to  bo  merged 
in  West  Portland  corporation  for  '^loator  convenience  and  mutual 
benefit.  They  are  connected  with  ilie  west  pide  by  ferries  and 
by  two  bridges  spanning  the  vV^allaniet  The  wheat  warehouses 
and  elevator  of  the  railroad  conipunies  are  on  the  east  side,  there 
being  insufficient  room  on  tl»e  west  for  the  accommodation  of 
their  freight  business.  Th'.  gieater  extent  of  level  ground  on 
the  peiiiiisnhi  is  sure  in  time  to  bring  a  large  portion  of  the 
population  to  this  side,  as  the  rapi<l  growtii  of  those  suburbs 
as  well  as  the  city  proper  plainly  indicates. 

As  a  seaport  Portland  has  advantages  and  disadvantages,  it 
is  one  hundred  and  ton  miles  from  the  ocean,  but  there  is  n  good 
depth  of  water  on  the  bar  of  the  Columbia,  and,  by  using  a 
dredger  at  certain  ])oints  on  this  river  and  on  the  Wallamot  in 
low  water,  navigation  is  Uept  unobstructed.  The  expense  of 
pilotage  to  and  from  Portland  is  high.  Vessels  not  exceeding 
eight  hundred  tons  register  are  charged  four  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  from  Astoria  to  this  city;  over  eight  lunnlred  tons,  five 
hundred  dollars;  over  twelve  hundred  tons,  five  hundrcil  and 
fifty  dollars;  over  sixteen  hundred  tons,  .six  hundred  dollai.i; 
and  '^vcr  two  thousand  one  hundred  tons,  special  rates.  Light- 
erage upon  grain  and  flour  is  fifty  cents  per  ton  to  Astoria; 
upon  other  freight  one  dollar.  The  pilotage  from  Astoria  to  sea 
is  a  special  charge. 

The  wheat  market  of  Portland,  except  in  seasons  of  low 
water,  when  lighterage  is  required,  is  the  same  in  point  of  no 
rcshipment  as  that  of  Chicai^o,  the  grain  placed  on  board  here 
remaining  unhandled  until  it  roaches  Liverpool,  four  months 
after  clearing  here,  and  at  a  cost  less  than  export  rates  from 
the  Great  Lakes.  The  bulk  of  the  grain  grown  in  Oregon  and 
Washington  is  shipped  directly  from  Portland  and  Astoria,  or 
Puget  Sound  ports,  to  England,  Japan,  and  China.     The  clear- 

7 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


; 


f 
k 


ances  of  the  year  ending  July  15,  1890,  amounted  to  eighty -nine 
inillion  dollars  for  Portland. 

The  foreign  trade  of  Portland  is  carried  on  in  sailing  vessels 
and  by  irregular  steamship  service.  The  trade  with  Europe 
employs  between  one  and  two  hundred  vessels  annually,  each 
vessel  under  a  special  charter.  <.    •       .,       v,',-,. 

Trade  with  Australia,  South  America,  and  the  islands  of  the. 
Pacific  is  carried  on  in  a  similar  manner.  Only  two  regular  lines 
exist,  one  to  New  York  and  one  to  China.  Of  steamship  lines 
there  is  one  to  San  Francisco,  one  to  Alaska,  one  to  Puget 
Sound  and  British  Columbia  ports,  one  to  the  coast  ports  of 
Washington,  and  one  projected  and  soon  to  be  put  in  operation 
to  Japan. 

Portland  is  not  eminent  as  a  manufacturing  city,  although 
its  domestic  business  is  divided  between  eighty-eight  kinds  of 
manufactures  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  other  lines  of  trade, 
which  together  employ  between  seven  and  eight  thousand  per- 
sons, the  annual  product  of  whoso  labor  is  estimated  at  twenty 
million  one  hundred  and  eighty-three  thousand  and  forty-four 
dollars.  Formerly  only  lumber  and  flour  were  produced  for 
export.  Mills  were  followed  by  foundries  and  machine-shops, 
whose  output  in  1889  was  two  million  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
Sash-  and  door-factories  abound,  and  carriage-making  is  carried 
on  to  considerable  extent.  A  cordage-manufsictory  had  an  cut- 
put  for  1889  valued  at  eight  hundred  thousand  dollai's,  and  a 
bag-,  tent-,  and  sail-factory  turned  out  about  the  same  amount 
of  goods  during  the  year. 

Many  of  the  heavy  expenditures  of  Portland  capital  have 
been  made  outside  of  Portland  proper,  as,  for  instance,  in  the 
construction  of  the  smelter  at  Linnton  and  the  Oregon  Iron- 
and  Steel-Works  at  Oswego. 

Iron-beds  were  early  known  to  exist  near  the  Wallamet  and 
Columbia  Rivers,  but  the  only  development  has  been  at  Oswego, 
six  miles  fi'om  Portland,  where  there  is  an  extensive  deposit. 
The  ore  is  a  brown  hematite,  in  a  vein  from  six  to  fifteen  feet 
in  thickness.  It  is  mined  at  slight  expense,  being  near  the 
surface.  In  1862  six  tons  were  taken  out  and  tested  in  San 
Francisco,  the  test  showing  from  fifty-six  to  sixty-five  per 
cent,  of  metal  of  a  superior  quality.     Thereupon,  in   1865,  the 


THE  WALLAMET   AND   ITS   CHIEF   TOWN. 


99 


Oregon  Iron  Company  was  formed,  with  a  capital  stock  of 
five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  two-thirds  of  which  was  owned 
in  Portland,  and  the  ccnpanj^  erected  the  pioneer  iron-smelting 
furnace  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  with  a  '-apaeity  of  ten  tons  per  day. 
The  production  of  iron  has  heen  less  than  hoped  for  from  an 
analysis  of  the  ore,  which  gave  sesquioxide  of  iron  77.16  per 
cent.,  or  54.37  per  cent,  of  metallic  iron,  the  other  parts  being 
water,  11.16;  silica,  11.08;  sulphur  and  phosphorus  together, 
one-tenth  of  one  per  cent.  The  ore  proved  not  to  maintain 
throughout  the  richness  of  tlie  sample  analyzed,  and  the  cost 
of  production  was  great,  on  account  of  iiaving  to  import  lime 
and  to  manufacture  charcoal.  In  1874—75  a  ton  of  iron  cost  to 
produce  thirty-three  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents,  and  sold 
in  San  Francisco  in  limited  lots  for  forty-six  dollars  per  ton, 
being  used  where  special  strength  was  required.  It  was  found 
to  answer  well  for  the  manufacture  of  car-wheels,  but  its  cost 
was  prohibitory,  Scotch  and  English  iron  being  much  cheaper. 

The  amount  produced  from  the  date  of  its  first  manufacture 
to  1869  was  two  thousand  three  hundred  raid  ninety-five  tons, 
when  work  was  suspended  until  1874,  when  the  company  was 
reorganized,  and  in  little  more  than  two  years  manufixctured  five 
thousand  and  seventy-five  tons.  The  property  was  then  sold 
for  the  benefit  of  its  creditors.  In  1878  the  purchasers  started 
up  the  furnace,  making  eleven  hundred  and  i^jventy  tons,  when 
it  was  stopped  to  rebuild  and  enlarge  its  capacity.  Again  the 
manufacture  of  iron  went  on  for  more  than  two  years,  when 
in  the  autumn  of  1881  other  changes  were  introduced,  and  the 
furnace  remained  idle  for  several  years.  In  1888  the  company 
entered  into  a  contract  to  furnish  iron  pipe  for  the  Portland 
water-works,  and  resumed  operations,  which  continue  to  the 
present  time. 

The  present  name  of  the  corporation  is  the  Oregon  Iron  and 
Steel  Works  Company.  It  supplies  much  of  the  raw  material 
for  the  foundry  work  of  Portland,  the  value  of  its  product 
being  about  fifty  thousand  dollars  anuually. 

There  are  other  iron-deposits  in  several  of  the  counties.  The 
most  available  one  is  in  Columbia  County,  near  the  River  Colum- 
bia, convenient  to  deep  water  and  timber.  The  iron  and  steel 
trade  of  Pcvtland  is  nearly  two  million  dollars  yearly.    The  cost 


!l 


4  *' 


100 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


I  Jl 


of  the  produclion  of  iron  is  somewhat  lowered  since  18()9.  If  it 
could  bo  still  further  lowered,  there  seems  no  reason  why  rails 
to  equip  the  numerous  railways  being  constructed  in  the  North- 
west should  not  be  made  in  Oregon  or  Wasiiington. 

Portland  supports  nineteen  newspapoi's  and  other  periodicals. 
Four  of  the  newspapers  are  dailies,  among  which  the  Oregonian, 
the  pioneer  journal,  is  still  chief.  It  is  the  best-conducted 
journal  on  the  coast,  and  costs  its  subscribei-s  about  five  cents  a 
copy.  The  West  Shore,  in  another  line,  has  done  a  great  deal  to 
deserve  the  patronage  which  it  gets  at  home  and  abroad. 

Portland  is  a  more  American  city  than  San  Francisco,  although 
its  population  is  becoming  more  mixed  every  year.  There  are 
many  Scotchmen  here  in  business,  and  a  considerable  amount 
of  Scotch  capital.  Young  Englishmen  from  Victoria  are  fre- 
quently met  in  society,  and,  like  their  countrymen  at  home,  do 
not  hesitate  to  criticise  our  social  habits,  and  particularly  the 
lack  of  chaperonage  of  our  young  ladies.  I  was  much  amused 
by  an  encounter  which  I  witnessed  between  a  young  English- 
man and  a  Portland  young  lady  who  had  favored  him  with  her 
society  at  the  tennis  court,  unattended,  and  been  rewarded  for 
her  trust  in  his  courtesy  by  very  uncourteous  remarks  upon 
such  social  freedom.  Miss  America  defended  our  ideas  of  pro- 
priety, and  Mr.  Briton  remained  unconvinced,  although  he  very 
often  sought  the  society  of  the  young  ladj-. 

One  evening,  in  the  cour.se  of  conversation  the  gentleman 
chanced  to  mention  the  marriage  of  a  Sir  Somebody,  of  British 
Columbia,  to  an  Oregonian  lady.  "Why,"  said  Miss  America, 
putting  on  a  puzzled  look,  '■  I  am  surprised  at  that — unless  he 
was  in  need  of  money."  It  was  a  telling  shot,  but  both  parties 
affected  unconsciousness. 

Portland  has  but  one  popular  drive.  That  is  from  First  Street 
for  five  miles  up  the  river  bank  to  the  ferry  opposite  Milwaukee. 
It  affords  a  truly  delightful  view  of  the  Wallamel,  the  beautiful 
Piverside  Cemetery,  and  the  city  water-works.  There  is  a  park, 
which  is  too  small,  and  only  partially  improved,  at  the  west 
side  of  the  town,  in  the  shadow  of  the  hills.  There  are,  how- 
ever, some  wonderfully  interesting  drives  about  Portland,  which 
will  be  popular  when  somewhat  more  improved,  and  which  rival 
the  famous  eighteen-mile  drive  at  Monterey. 


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THE   WALLAMET   AND   ITS  CHIEF   TOWN. 


101 


In  California  ono  hears  constant  allusion  to  climate.  Now, 
while  climate  is  valuable,  and  worth  all  that  is  paid  for  it,  in  com- 
fort and  pleasure,  and  while  Oregon  has  as  good  a  climate  aa 
need  be  desired,  taking  it  "by  and  large,"  I  think  the  '"card" 
on  which  West  Oregon  should  draw  tourists  would  be  scenery. 
Like  the  climate  of  California,  it  is  everywhere.  If  you  enter 
the  State  by  the  Southern  Pacific  you  have  one  whole  day,  at 
least,  of  mountain  views  greatly  excelling  in  variety  and  interest 
the  crossing  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas,  and  a  lovely  ride  through 
the  Wallamet  Valley  after  it.  If  you  come  by  the  Union 
Pacific,  you  have  the  Columbia  River  views,  whose  grandeur 
I  have  but  faintly  indicated.  By  the  Northern  Pacific  you 
are  brought  in  view  of  an  extraordinary  and  wonderfully  ex- 
tended panorama,  including  lakes,  plains,  the  crossing  of  tlio 
Cascade  Eange,  Puget  Sound,  and  West  Washington.  Or,  if  the 
approach  is  made  via  the  Canadian  Pacific,  you  enjoy  other 
similar  scenes  of  sublimity  impossible  to  forget. 

But  here,  right  about  Portland,  are  views  not  to  he  surpassed 
in  the  United  States,  and  the  Cornell  Road  and  Portland 
Boulevard  furnish  them  to  you,  one  winding  among  the  heights 
north  from  the  city,  and  tlie  other  taking  a  southerly  direction. 
From  the  ridge  west  of  Portland  you  may  see  five  snow-peaks, 
two  great  rivers,  the  triune  cities  of  West  Portland,  East  Port- 
land, and  Albina,  the  town  of  Vancouver  in  Washington,  and 
half  a  dozen  other  outlying  towns  within  a  radius  of  twenty- 
hve  miles.  You  may  drive  for  eighteen  miles  in  one  direction, 
looking  over  two  counties  as  j-ou  go,  and  for  t-.,elve  miles  in 
another,  of  scarcel}'^  less  wonderful  picturesqueness,  but  of  softer 
features.  Neither  the  camera  nor  the  pen  is  equal  to  the  task 
of  delineating  scenes  on  a  scale  of  such  magnificence  as  are 
grouped  about  Portland-on-Wallamet. 


^ 


1U2 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


-t 


)  \  ii 


11 


CHAPTEli    VIII. 

OTHER   TOWNS   OF  TUE    WALLAMET    VALLEV. 

Procekdinu  up  tlic  Wallainet,  we  ooiiie  in  about  six  miles  to 
Oswci^o,  the  seat  of  the  Oregon  Iron-  and  Steel- Works,  a  busy  little 
j)laon  on  the  west  bank.  Nearly  opposite  is  Milwaukee,  famous 
for  having  been  the  place  where  the  tirst  nursery  of  the  Pacific 
coast  was  planted,  on  the  grounds  of  Meek  and  Lluelling.  The 
young  trees  were  brought  across  the  continent  in  a  wagon-box 
tilled  with  earth.  The  earliest  export  of  this  fruit  was  made  in 
1853  to  San  Francisco,  where  two  hundred  pounds  brought  five 
hundred  dollars.  The  same  firm  sold  the  following  year  forty 
bushels  of  apples  for  sixty-two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  bushel. 
*'  The  lan(i  of  red  apples"  and  "  the  land  of  cider"  are  still 
syuouymes  for  the  Wallamet  Valley  among  Californiaus.  Mil- 
waukee was  also  noted  for  the  flour  produced  there,  but  as  a 
town  it  has  no  development. 

About  three  miles  above  Milwaukee,  on  the  east  side,  there 
comes  in  the  Clackamas  river,  the  lowest  tributary  of  the  Walla- 
niet,  and  nearly  opposite  the  Tualatin.  There  is  a  fish  hatchery 
on  the  Clackamas  where  between  five  and  six  million  eggs  were 
taken  in  1890,  most  of  which  w^ill  be  fish.  Above  here  another 
three  miles  are  the  Falls  of  the  Wallamet,  and  Oregon  City,  built 
upon  a  bed  of  solid  basalt,  a  ledge  of  which  extends  quite  across 
the  river,  cropping  out  on  the  other  side.  This  ledge  is  about 
twenty  feet  higher  than  the  surface  of  the  river  below  the  fall, 
and  is  broken  into  a  ragged  crescent  with  rather  a  sharp  angle 
in  the  middle,  where  the  water  cbeflects  to«-ards  the  western 
shore.  In  low  or  ordinary  stage  of  water  the  stream  divides  into 
several  parts,  seeking  the  deepest  channels  in  the  rocks,  and 
forming  a  number  of  difi'erent  cataracts;  yet  the  central  one,  at 
the  angle  spoken  of,  is  always  the  principal  one.  Above  the 
falls  the  river  j)arts,  flowing  around  an  island  of  rock,  on  which 
once  stood  a  mill  belonging  to  the  .tiethodist  Mission,  but  which 
was  carried  away  in  the  great  jd  of  18G2,  along  with  numer- 
ous other  buildings  from  the  mainland. 


OTHER  TOWNS  OF  THE   WALLAMET   VALLEY. 


103 


The -cui'rciit,  always  strong  just  above  the  falls,  is  terrific 
when  the  heavy  rains  of  winter  have  swollen  all  the  tributaries 
of  the  river,  and  filled  its  banks  with  a  rushing  torrent  fifteen 
to  twenty  feet  in  depth.  At  such  times  the  rocks  are  mostly 
hidden,  and  the  fulls  extend  from  shore  to  shore,  or  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile. 

The  Palls  of  the  Wallamet  constitute  the  great  water-power 
of  the  State.  The  favorite  term  for  Oregon  City  is,  "The 
Lowell  of  the  Pacific  Coast ;"  and  there  is  indeed  every  natural 
agency  hero  for  the  making  of  a  second  Lowell.  One  of  the 
largest  woollen-mills  of  the  State  is  located  here.  It  is  built 
substantially  of  stone  and  brick,  four  stories  high,  and  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety  by  sixty  feet  in  ground  area,  and  contains 
twelve  sets  of  the  most  improved  machinery.  Its  manufactures 
are  blankets,  flannels,  and  cassimeres  and  light  cloths.  The 
'•  Imperial"  flouring-mill,  and  another  custom  mill,  a  saw-mill,  a 
box-factory,  paper-mill,  and  the  Portland  Electric-Light  Powcr- 
House  are  located-  here.  An  important  work  has  been  pc- 
formed  here,  namely,  the  construction  of  locks  on  the  west  side 
of  the  falls,  by  which  boats  may  pass  up  and  down  without 
transshipment,  which  for  many  years  was  necessary.  However, 
as  the  government  fails  to  keep  a  boat  on  the  upper  river  with 
apparatus  for  removing  sand-bars  and  snags,  the  benefit  to  the 
State  of  these  locks  for  half  the  year,  at  least,  is  lost. 

If  one  is  informed  of  the  history  of  this  region,  ho  may  step 
aside  from  the  main  street  of  Oregon  City,  and  in  the  enclosure 
about  the  Catholic  church  read  on  a  modest  head-stone:  '-Dr. 
John  McLoughlin,  died  Sept.  3d,  1857,  aged  73  years.  The 
Pioneer  and  Friend  of  Oregon.    Also  the  Founder  of  this  City." 

From  Oregon  City,  for  a  distance  of  more  than  fifty  miles  by 
the  river,  thei'eare  no  towns  of  any  importance,  though  there  are 
numerous  "landings,"  where  freight  is  put  on  or  off  for  various 
places  in  the  interior,  indicating  that  there  is  a  considerable 
population  scattered  through  the  valley.  About  cloven  miles 
above  Oregon  City  the  Molalla  enters  the  Wahamet,  near  the 
mouth  of  which  was  Champoeg,  the  oldest  settlement  in  the 
valley.  The  river  here  makes  a  bend  t.:)  the  west  and  receives 
the  Yamhill  River.  South  of  this  bend  was  where  the  French 
Canadians  had  their  farms  as  early  as  1829.     As  mig.it  be  ex- 


104 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


I    ;f 


!  I 


pected,  it  is  in  a  fertile  and  desirable  location,  yot  has  never 
become  a  business  centre.  Here  it  was  that  the  "Organic 
Laws"  were  adopted  by  a  majority  of  the  Oregon  settlors,  in 
May,  184:3,  and  a  provisional  government  creeled,  to  last  until 
such  time  as  the  United  States  government  should  see  fit  to 
acknowledge  Oregon  as  one  of  her  Territories.  There  is  also  a 
mcmoral)le  K])ot  twelve  miles  below  Salem,  on  the  east  bank, 
where  the  Methodist  Mission  made  its  first  location  in  1834,  this 
being  the  very  first  American  settlement  in  the  Wallamet  Valley. 
Here,  too,  in  1843,  after  the  acceptance  of  the  Organic  Laws, 
was  held  the  first  Legislative  Assembl}'  of  nine  persons,  their 
Council  Chamber  being  a  public  room  in  a  building  belonging 
to  the  mission,  known  as  "The  Granary."  Subsequently  the 
Legislature  removed  its  sessions  to  Oregon  City.  The  high- 
water  of  1862  carried  away  a  portion  of  the  old  mission  ground, 
which  was  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  where  the  open  prairie 
approaches  quite  to  it. 

While  we  are  overcoming  the  last  twelve  miles  of  quiet  voy- 
aging between  tlie  "Old  Mission"  and  Salem,  we  may  as  well 
consider  their  relationship.  Li  the  autumn  of  1840  the  Meth- 
odist Mission  built  a  mill  on  a  stream  twelve  miles  south  of  their 
first  establishment,  at  a  place  called  by  the  Lidians  Cliemeketa, 
and,  finding  the  situation  every  way  a  better  one  than  that,  re- 
moved the  mission  to  it  in  the  following  year.  The  first  dwell- 
ing was  ei'ected  at  some  distance  back  from  the  river,  on  the 
bank  of  a  stream  known  as  Mill  Creek,  in  a  very  pleasant  and 
convenient  location,  with  an  extensive  plain  on  one  hand,  and  a 
charmingly  wooded,  rolling  landscape  on  the  other.  In  1843 
the  large  frame  building,  for  many  years  known  as  "  The  Insti- 
tute," was  erected,  as  a  school  for  Indian  children,  but,  the  sav- 
ages not  taking  very  kindly  to  study,  the  mi.ssion  was  dissolved 
in  1844,  after  which  time  the  Oregon  Institute  became  a  sem- 
inary of  learning  for  whoever  chose  to  patronize  it,  although  it 
still  remained  under  the  control  of  the  Methodist  denomination, 
and  was  converted  ultimately  into  a  university. 

Upon  the  sale  of  the  mission  property,  the  town-site  of  Salem 
was  laid  out  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Wilson,  and  received  its  present 
name.  It  is  very  handsomely  located  upon  a  gravelly  prairie, 
rising  gradually  back  from   the  river,  which   is  skirted    with 


OTHER  TOWNS  OF   THE  WALLAMET   VALLEY. 


105 


grovos  of  tnll  trees.  Other  groves  of  firs  and  oaks  relievo  the 
level  monotony  of  the  hindscapo  for  a  couple  of  miles  away  to 
the  north  and  east ;  while  the  liills  across  Mill  Creek  are  wooded 
like  parks,  witii  a  variety  of  trees.  Across  the  Wallamct,  and 
fronting  the  town,  is  a  range  of  high  land  called  the  "  Polk 
County  llills,"  wiiich  makes  the  greatest  charm  of  the  whole 
view  of  Salem.  In  outline  and  coloring,  these  hills  are  poet- 
ically beautiful.  The  town  is  jjluced  in  a  setting  of  the  Polk 
County  Hills  to  the  west,  the  "  Waldo  llills"  (another  arable 
range)  to  the  southeast,  the  Blue  Cascade  Range  with  its  over- 
topping snow-peaks  to  the  noi-tlieast,  groves  of  fine,  large  oaks 
and  firs  breaking  the  middle  distance ;  while  immediately  about 
us  are  level  farms  an<i  fields  of  waving  grain,  with  a  substantial 
farm-house,  here  and  there,  in  their  midst. 

The  residence  part  of  Salem  is  comfo'  tably  built,  with  an  air 
of  stability  and  proj)rioty  about  it.  The  streets  are  wide,  the 
lots  large,  and  the  dwellings  neat,  often  handsome,  with  well-kept 
gardens  attached.  Shade-trees — locust  and  maple — line  the 
broad  avenues,  and  the  public  square  is  of  liberal  proportions, 
promising  "  lungs"  to  the  city,  should  it  grow  large  enough  to 
need  this  breathing-sjiace  in  its  midst.  The  business  houses 
are  handsome  and  commodious,  and  the  public  edifices  are 
numerous  and  costly.  The  city  has  about  twelve  thousand 
inhabitants. 

Salem  is  the  county-seat  of  Marion  County,  as  well  as  the 
capital  of  the  State.  By  the  constitution  of  Oregon  the  State 
buildings  are  all  located  at  the  capital.  The  county  court-house, 
which  occupies  a  square,  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand  dollars.  The  State-house,  not  yet  entirelj'- 
finished,  has  cost  so  far  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  State  insane  asylum  is  a  magnificent  structure,  with 
accommodations  for  one  thousand  patients.  The  State  peniten- 
tiary, school  for  deaf  and  mute  children,  school  for  the  blind, 
and  State  Reform  School  are  all  worthy  of  this  commonwealth. 

The  Willamette  University,  the  outgrowth  of  the  Oregon 
Institute,  is  a  prosperous  sectarian  school,  with  an  average 
attendance  of  three  hundred  of  both  sexes.  The  Catholics 
also  have  a  school  for  young  ladies  at  this  place.  The  public 
high-school  is  a  fine  building,  and  the  thirteen  churches  of  dif- 


106 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


r   [1 

I      11 

I    I 


ferent  donominations  give  ovidenco  of  tho  prosperity  of  these 
orgauizationa. 

Tho  great  flood  of  tho  winter  of  1889-90  carried  away  a  fine 
briuge  wliich  connected  tho  city  with  the  country  opposite,  but 
it  is  being  rcphvced  by  one  more  costly.  A  n  excellent  water-power 
is  furnished  by  a  canal,  only  about  one-third  of  which  is  utilized 
by  two  large  flouring-mills,  a  fifty-ihousand-dolhir  woollen-mill, 
lumber-mills,  and  sash-  and  door-factories.  The  wages  paid  to 
operatives  in  the  different  industries  is  three  hundred  thousand 
dollars  per  annum.  Tho  city  is  furnished  with  water-works 
and  street-car  lines;  has  tho  navigable  river  on  its  front,  and 
the  Southern  Pacific  at  its  back  ;  and  will  soon,  it  is  believed, 
be  connected  by  railroad  with  Astoria  by  the  sea. 

Of  the  two  or  more  newspapers  published  in  Salem,  tho 
Statesman  is  the  eldest.  In  the  early  history  of  the  State  it  was 
a  power,  ably  conducted,  and  unrelentingly  Democratic.  Its 
founder  is  at  present  a  banker  in  this  city  and  a  "  bloated  bond- 
holder," but  delights  in  reminiscences  of  the  time  when  the 
Statesman  ruled  Oregon.  Its  files  contain  a  complete  history 
of  the  State  for  ten  years, — from  1851  to  1861.  Salem  has  no 
public  library,  oven  tho  State  library  being  sadly  deficient,  and 
the  State  archives  needing  care. 

It  is  needless  to  say,  that  with  all  the  advantages  named, 
Salem  is  the  centre  of  a  wealthy  and  important  section  of  the 
Wallamet  Valley.  There  are  eighteen  or  twenty  sriall  towns 
in  Marion  County,  each  the  centre  of  a  farming  community. 

The  government  has  an  Indian  school  at  Chemawa,  a  few 
miles  north  of  Salem,  where  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Indian 
parents  are  trained  for  civilized  life.  There  are  a  number  of 
buildings  of  a  modern  appearance,  and  a  farm  and  orchard 
under  improvement.  The  superintendent  reports  to  the  govern- 
ment the  condition  of  his  charge,  and  I  believe  the  scheme  is 
reasonably  successful,  considering  the  antecedents  of  the  pupils. 

About  twenty  miles  above  Salem  the  Wallamet  receives  the 
Santiam  Eiver,  which  separates  Marion  from  Linn  County. 
The  county-seat  of  Linn  is  Albany,  ten  miles  farther  south, 
which  is  at  the  head  of  low-water  navigation.  Between  Salem 
and  Albany  are  several  small  places,  chiefly  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river.     Buena  Vista  is  a  thriving  place,  and  manufactures 


OTHER   TOWNS   OF  THE   WALLAMET    VALLEY. 


107 


coininoii  pottery.  Monmoutli  is  tho  aeiit  of  a  donoininutional 
college,  and  also  the  State  normal  school.  Warehouses  and  ship- 
ping points  are  frequent  along  this  portion  of  tho  river,  for  the 
Wallaniet  hero  borders  some  of  the  most  famous  grain-raising 
counties. 

Tho  Calapooia  Kiver  enters  tho  Wallamot  at  Albany,  on  the 
east  side.  This  stream  furnishes  fine  water-power  up  in  tho 
foot-hills,  where  two  towns — North  and  South  Brownsville — are 
located.  The  former  is  a  manufacturing  place,  having  a  woollen- 
mill,  a  flouring-mill,  a  planing-mill,  ami  a  tannery,  besides 
machine  shops  and  other  similar  establishments. 

Albany  was  laid  out  as  a  town  site  in  1848,  by  two  brothers, 
Thomas  aiid  Walter  Monteith.  All  that  has  been  said  of  Salem 
as  a  well  located  and  well-built  town  ajjplies  eqmdly  to  Albany, 
which  is  the  third  in  importance  in  the  Wallamet  Valley,  if  not 
tho  second,  this  being  a  mooted  question  between  tho  two  cities. 
As  a  manufacturing  place  it  surpasses  its  rival.  Its  water- 
power  is  obtained  by  a  canal  from  the  Santiam,  costing  sixty 
thousand  dollars,  several  mills  and  tho  electric-light  plant  being 
worked  by  this  power.  Like  Salem,  it  is  on  the  line  of  the 
Southern  Pacific,  with  a  railroad  assured  to  Astoria,  and  is  on 
the  line  of  the  Oregon  Pacific. 

There  are  many  ])leasant  drives  and  resorts  about  Albany, 
and  a  fine  view  of  that  beautiful  group  of  snow-peaks,  the 
Three  Sisters.  Although  there  is  much  level  prairie,  there  are 
also  buttes  and  ridges  so  disposed  about  tho  valley  as  to  give  a 
charming  variety  to  an  otherwise  monotonous  landscape.  Sweet 
Home  Valley  is  an  oval  shaped  paradise  surrounded  by  an 
amphitheatre  of  hills,  atui  facing  the  Santiam. 

Lebanon,  on  the  south  fork  of  tho  Santiam,  is  a  delightful 
spot,  in  the  midst  of  a  fine  farming  country.  A  few  miles 
above  Lebanon,  at  the  falls  of  the  Santiam,  is  Silverton,  another 
small  town,  with  flouring-  and  lumber-mills.  Both  of  these 
places  are  the  centres  of  a  healthy  business,  dependent  on  agri- 
culture and  manufactures. 

Gatesville,  on  the  line  of  the  Oregon  Pacific,  is  the  base  of 
supplies  for  the  Santiam  mining  district.  King's  Prairie,  oppo- 
site Gatesville,  is  a  thrifty  farming  settlement,  and  surrounded 
by  fine  timber,  which  several  mills  are  doing  their  best  to  con- 


108 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


Bumo.  Ilalsoy,  on  the  lino  of  tho  Southern  Pacific,  ships  annu- 
ally nearly  three  hundred  thousand  bushels  of  grain,  and  is  a 
flourishing  town. 

Above  Albany  tho  pino-treo  boi^ins  to  appear,  mixed  with  tho 
fii',  aloni;  tho  river-banks.  Tho  proves  of  timber  are  more  scat- 
tering, and  tho  country  more  level  and  open.  Except  the  ash, 
maple,  alder,  and  willow  of  the  I'iver-bottoms,  there  is  little 
forest;  but  tho  isolated  trees  of  pine,  tir,  and  oak  whitdi  beautify 
tho  plains  are  of  the  handsomest  ])roportions. 

Corvallis,  a  dozen  miles  above  Albany,  on  tho  west  side  of  tho 
river,  is  about  the  same  ago  with  it.  It  first  proprietor  was  J.  C. 
Avery,  by  whom  it  was  incorporated  in  1857.  The  situation  of 
Corvallis  is  remarkably  handsome,  having  the  river  on  one  side 
of  it,  and  the  Coast  Range  sufficiently  near  it  on  the  other  to 
give  the  landscape  tho  look  of  being  framed  in  a  semicircle  of 
hills.  Its  name,  Corvallis,  a  corruption  of  cceur  de  vallee. — 
heart  of  the  valley, — was  given  to  it  before  Mr.  Avery  ever  saw 
it.  Ifo  called  his  town  site  Marysville,  but,  there  being  another 
Marysville  on  tho  California  mail-route,  the  name  was  dropped, 
and  the  more  significant  one  restored.  This  pretty  little  city  is 
the  seat  of  government  of  Benton  County,  which  also  has  a 
seaport  town,  namely  Newport,  at  Yaquina  Bay,  which  is  the 
initial  point  of  tho  Oregon  Pacific  Eailroad,  and  also  a  popular 
summer  resort.  A  commodious  hotel  is  all  that  Newport  needs 
to  bring  many  visitors  there  every  season.  At  Seal  Kock,  eight 
miles  south  of  Newport,  about  seventy  persons  can  be  accom- 
modated in  cottages. 

Tho  entrance  to  Yaquina  Bay  in  its  natural  state  was  not 
good,  there  being  not  jnore  than  eight  feet  of  water  on  the  bar 
at  low  tide,  and  three  nominal  channels.  The  channel  most  used 
was  rendered  dangerous  by  the  presence  of  rocks,  and  the 
shifting  nature  of  the  bar  left  none  of  them  safe  for  navigation. 
In  1881  tho  government  commenced  the  work  of  improving  the 
middle  channel  by  a  jetty  three  thousand  seven  hundred  feet 
in  length,  which  in  1884  was  extended  to  four  thousand  feet. 
Another  jetty,  on  tho  north  side,  was  constructed  in  1888,  two 
thousand  three  hundred  feet  in  length,  with  the  result  that  there 
is  now  nearly  twelve  feet  of  water  on  the  bar  at  low  tide.  A 
line  of  steamers  runs  regularly  between  Newport  and  San  I'ran- 


- '  ■«;. 


OTHKIl   TOWNiS   ()'•'   TIIK    WAIJ-A.MKT    VAFJ-KV. 


109 


cibco,  connoctiii^'  witli  tlio  Oregon  I'acitic  Huilnuid,  i^routly  to 
tho  relief  ol'  tho  coiitrul  iiiul  HoutliLrn  jxjrlions  of  tho  \Valliiii»et 
Valley  oil  the  west  side,  which  wore  without  rnoiuis  ol'  Inviis- 
|)<)rlation.  Corvullis  luhored  ciiei'^elicaliy  for  twenty  yearn  to 
bring  about  this  improvement  in  its  business  facilities,  tho  ro- 
wan! of  whith  (loterniinution  it  is  begiiininuj  to  enjoy. 

The  Oregon  Development  Company,  concerned  in  these  im- 
provements, owns  one  steamer,  the  '' Willamet  Valley,'  and 
charters  another,  the  "  Farallon,"  both  drawing,  loaded,  about 
lourtoen  feet.     Of  course,  they  cun  enter  only  on  full  iido. 

A  steam-scdiooner,  drawing  eight  feet,  was  employed  hi^u. 
year  in  coasting  between  Yaquinu  and  the  river  [)orts  south, 
namely,  Alseyu  and  Sinslaw,  carrying  salmon,  shingles,  wool, 
hid'"-,  etc.,  to  Va<piina,  and  taking  general  merchandise  as 
rolu''n  cargo.  She  made  twenty-tivo  trips,  carrying  Hfty  tons 
cttch  vwiv. 

Tho  total  amount  of  imports  by  the  company's  vessels  during 
tho  year  ending  June  10,  18!)(),  was  eight  thousand  and  three 
tons;  and  of  exports,  thirty-two  thousand  and  eight  tons,  or 
forty  thousand  and  seventy-four  tons  total  carriage.  The  San 
Franci-sco  line  cari'ied  seven  hundred  aud  seventy-eight  in- 
coming and  four  hundred  and  tifty-six  outgoing  passengers, 
and  had  but  one  accident  on  the  bar,  when  a  heavy  sea  boarded 
tho  "Farallon"  and  washed  overboard  live  men,  two  of  whom 
were  lost.  The  steamer's  fires  were  put  out,  and  she  suffered 
damages  which  compelled  bev  to  return  for  repairs.  A  small 
steanior  runs  upon  the  waters  of  tho  bay. 

T  have  been  thus  particaUa'  in  giviiig  the  result  of  an  enter- 
prise which  at  first  seemed  unpromising,  only  to  show  what 
opportunities  remain  for  development  in  a  country  so  rich  in 
resources.  The  Alseya  Valley,  in  Benton  County,  has  its  own 
little  seaix)rt  at  the  mouth  of  tho  Alseya  River.  The  lower 
portion  is  heavily  timbered,  but  where  cleared  produces  abun- 
dant crops.  It  has,  besides,  mineral  resources — coal  in  the  moun- 
tains, and  gold  in  the  back-sands,  "^'^e  upper  part  of  tho  valley, 
from  one  to  throe  miles  wide  aii  twelve  long,  is  mostly  settled 
up  with  thrifty  and  industrious  people. 

The  pass  through  tb  j  Coast  Eango,  by  which  the  Oregon 
Pacific  comes  to  Corvallis,  perceptibly  aff'ects  the  climate  ot 


'  ,!'l 


m 


I 

h 

! 


Hi 


■ 

i 


M 


■-,  ) 


'•.( 


it      I 


ii,..i 


110 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


Benton  Count}-,  giving  it  the  benefit  of  a  modified  sea-breezo 
in  the  summer  season.  The  State  Agricultural  College,  with  an 
endowment  and  considerable  legislative  aid,  is  located  at  Cor- 
vallis.  The  town  is  well  built,  and  has  a  handsome  court-house, 
being  the  county- scat.  Like  all  Oregon  towns,  it  has  churches 
and  schools  witi)Out  stint. 

The  face  of  the  country  in  this  portion  of  the  valley  is  ex- 
tremely picturesque  and  beautiful.  The  narrowing  towards  its 
head  brings  mountains,  plains,  and  groves  within  the  sweep  of 
unassisted  vision,  and  the  whole  resembles  a  grand  picture. 
We  have  not  here  the  heavy  forests  of  the  Columbia  Eiver 
region,  nor  even  the  fi'cquently-recurring  fir-groves  of  the  mid- 
dle sections.  The  foot-hills  of  the  mountains  approacli  within 
a  few  miles  on  either  side,  but  those  nearest  the  valley  are 
rounded,  grassy  knolls,  over  which  are  scattered  groups  of  firs, 
pines,  or  oaks,  while  the  river-bottom  is  bordered  with  tall 
cotton-woods,  and  studded  rather  closely  with  pines  of  a  lofty 
height  and  noble  form. 

Two  tributaries  enter  the  Wallamet  between  Corvallis  and 
Eugene. — the  Muddy,  from  the  east,  and  Long  Tom  from  the 
southwest,  The  country  on  the  Long  Tom  is  celebrated  for  its 
fertility,  and  for  the  uneom]>romising  Democracy  of  its  people. 
The  school-master  and  the  Black  Republican  were  in  early  times 
alike  objects  of  aversion  in  that  famous  district.  It  is  also 
claimed  for  Long  Tom  that  it  originated  the  term  "  Webfoot," 
which  is  so  universally  applied  to  Orcgonians  by  their  California 
neighbors.  The  story  runs  as  follows:  A  young  couple  from 
Missouri  settled  upon  a  land-claim  on  the  banks  of  this  river, 
and  in  due  course  of  time  a  son  and  heir  was  born  to  them. 
A  California  "  commercial  traveller,"  chancing  to  stof)  with  the 
happy  parents  overnight,  made  some  jesting  remarks  upon  the 
subject,  warning  them  not  to  let  the  baby  get  droAvned  in  the 
unusually  extensive  mud-puddles  by  which  the  premises  were 
disfigured ;  when  the  father  replied  that  they  had  looked  out 
for  that,  and,  uncovering  the  baby's  feet,  astonished  the  joker 
b}'^  showing  him  that  they  were  loebbed.  The  sobriquet  of  Web- 
foot, having  thus  been  attached  to  Oregon-born  babies,  has  con- 
tinued to  be  a  favorite  appellative  ever  since. 

No  inland  town  could  have  a  prettier  location  than  Eugene, 


OTHER  TOWNS   OF   THE  WALLAMET   VALLEY. 


Ill 


and  few  a  more  desirable  one  for  other  reasons.  It  has  for  a 
background  Spencer's  Butte,  so  named  in  honor  of  the  Secretary 
of  State,  in  1841,  by  Dr.  White  of  the  Methodist  mission.  At 
the  head  of  the  valley,  it  combines  many  advantages;  Lane 
County,  of  which  it  is  the  county-seat,  extending  from  the  sea- 
coast  to  the  Cascade  Eange,  and  including  grain-  and  stock-lands, 
timber-  and  mineral-lands,  with  abundant  water-power. 

Eugene,  Avith  about  four  thousand  inhabitants,  is  the  seat  of 
the  University  of  Oregon,  founded  in  1872,  and  opened  for  the 
reception  of  students  in  187G.  Its  affairs  are  managed  by  a 
board  of  regents  appointed  by  the  governor  of  the  State  for  a 
term  of  twelve  years.  It  has  a  permanent  endowment  of  eighty 
thousand  dollars,  i-ealized  from  the  sale  of  lands  granted  by  the 
general  government  for  university  purposes,  and  a  fund  of 
fifty  thousand  dolhirs  donated  by  Mr.  Henry  Villard.  It  also 
receives  an  annual  appropriation  of  five  thousand  dollars  from 
the  State.  But  there  is  need  of  more  endowments  to  enable 
this  to  become  what  it  should  be,  a  place  of  universal  education. 
Two  handsome  brick  buildings,  a  growing  library  of  valuable 
books,  astronomical,  surveying,  and  chemical  apparatus  consti- 
tute the  present  visible  features  of  the  institution,  to  which  I 
would  add,  as  not  least,  though  last,  the  collection  of  Professoi- 
Thomas  Condon,  illustrating  the  geology,  mineralogy,  and  nat- 
ural history  of  the  Northwest.  This  collection,  the  result  of  the 
labor  of  a  lifetime,  is  already  well  known,  and  justly  noted  for 
laying  open  the  pre-historic  record  of  Oi'egon.  Professor  Con- 
don is  the  discoverer  of  the  dwarf  fossil  horse  of  Oregon,  which 
is  claimed  by  Eastern  scientists,  to  whom  he  imparted  his  dis- 
covery. 

Euf^ene  is  on  the  line  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  and 
has  a  good  country  trade.  Undoubtedly  railroads  will  be  built 
■jO  the  mouth  of  the  Siuslaw  Eiver,  and  into  Southeastern 
Oregon,  from  this  point.  A  road  into  the  Klamath  Valley 
leads  from  here  by  the  Diamond  Peak  pass. 

Three  miles  east  of  Eugene  is  ihe  town  of  Springfield,  a 
thriving  place,  with  flouring-  and  saw-miils,  and  several  manu- 
factories. Following  up  McKenzie's  Fork  of  the  Wallamet  to  a 
branch  called  the  Mohawk,  we  find  a  region  cut  off"  from  the 
main  valley  by  a  range  of  hills,  which  is  celebrated  for  its 


112 


ATLANTIS   ARISEX. 


natural  beauties  and  advantages  of  superior  climate,  excellent 
water,  rich  prairies,  and  fine  forest.  It  is  being  rapidly  taken 
up  by  dairymen,  fruit-farmers,  and  others.  Fine  water-power 
may  be  obtained  in  numerous  places,  owing  to  the  rapid  fall  of 
the  streams  coming  out  of  the  mountains.  A  glance  at  the 
map  will  sh()>v  the  three  principal  forks  of  the  Wallamet  eon- 
verging  towards  Eugene,  each  of  which  has  tributaries  with 
small  late'-  J  valleys  that  contain  vevy  choice  tracts  of  land. 

The  amphitheatre  of  mountains,  running  down  into  the  valley 
in  long  slopes  and  ridges,  furnishes  it  with  superior  facilities  for 
a  gi'eat  variety  of  manufactures  wliich  depend  on  wood,  water, 
stone,  and  like  materials.  When  these  are  to  be  found,  together 
with  a  vai'ietj'  of  good  soils  adapted  to  all  branches  of  farming, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  future  of  such  a  country.  From 
every  side  the  riches  of  these  hills  will  glide  down  into  the  lap 
of  that  city. 


CHAPTEK    IX. 


^i     i. 


S;  1: 


i 


I.; 
I'i 


15  :l 


FURTHER   REMARKS   ON    WEST    OREGON. 

The  Wallamet  prairies  arc  not  an  uninterrupted  level  like  those 
of  Illinois.  In  some  parts  they  resemble  the  "  oak  openings"  of 
Michigan  ;  in  other  parts  the  plains  are  quite  extenbive,  but 
nowhere  arc  wo  out  of  sight  of  large  bodies  of  timber  on  the 
mountains,  or  the  groves  that  fringe  the  rivers.  Ranges  of  hills 
and  isolated  buttcs  occur  frequently  enough  to  duve  the  land- 
scape from  monotony,  and  furnish  variety  of  soil  as  well. 

Tt.e  first  thought  in  viewing  Wist  Oregon  is  that  it  must  be 
a  country  of  perennial  verdure, — a  country  of  exhaustless  food 
resources  for  cattle.  Such  is  not  the  fact,  however,  owing  to 
the  absence  of  rain  during  about  four  months  of  the  3ear,  when 
the  grass  is  dried  up.  For  this  reason  it  cannot  furnish  fresh 
pasturage  later  than  the  first  of  July,  until  the  rains  begin  in 
October  or  November,  when  the  chilly  weather  makes  cattle 
poor,  although  grass  is  abundant.  Time  was  when  the  Wallamet 
Valley  waved  in  early  summer  with  luxuriant  native  grasses, 
red  and  white  clover,  and  many  I.eauliful  flowering  plants. 
Cattle  might  wallow  through  grass  breast-high  on  the  prairies, 


•k 


FURTHER   REMARKS   ON   WEST   OREGON. 


113 


and  as  high  as  iheir  heads  in  the  creek-bottoms.  Stock-raising 
was  a  lucrative  business  in  an  early  day  in  Oregon  :  in  the  first 
place,  because  cattle  were  scarce  among  the  settlers,  and  next, 
because,  after  they  became  more  numerous,  they  were  in  de- 
mand for  food  by  the  minii.g  population,  with  which  gold  dis- 
covery siiddi.-nly  peopled  the  southern  portion  of  the  State. 
The  stock-owner  then  put  his  brand  on  his  herd  and  turned 
them  out  to  "summer  and  winter"  themselves  en  the  abunuanco 
of  the  virgin  prairies;  but  in  course  of  time  this  indiscriminate 
pasturing  injured  the  grasses,  reducing  them  to  a  ^lorter  groAvth, 
though  it  is  said  that  when  the  land  is  perrxiiuted  to  lie  idle 
under  fence  they  recover  their  old  luxuriance. 

The  lives  of  the  early  Oregonians,  while  they  veiy  often 
lacked  material  comfort,  wore  remarkably  care-free.  The  genial 
climate  and  kindly  soil  rendered  constant  or  excessive  labor 
unnecessary.  Comparative  wealth  was  easily  attained  wdien  a 
hundred  cov»^s  represented  a  capital  of  ten  thousand  dollars.  To 
mount  his  "spotted  cayuse"  and  scamper  over  the  prairie  look- 
ing after  his  stock  was  a  pastime ;  good  riding,  good  shootini^, 
and  knowing  how  to  throw  the  lasso,  popular  accomplishments. 
Clad  in  his  buckskin  suit,  and  booted  and  spurred  in  true  vaquero 
style,  it  was  his  pleasure  to  scour  the  prairies  day  after  day  on 
any  errand,  from  cattle-hunting  to  looking  for  a  wife  with  three 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  to  make  a  mile  square  with  his  own. 
And  well  it  might  be — unless  some  of  wild  California  stock 
"got  after  him,"  when  a  sharp  race  sometimes  ended  in  the 
cahallero  being  "  treed." 

This  free  and  easy  life  in  a  country  so  beautiful  had  charms 
not  difficult  to  comprehend,  and  was  more  pvofitable  than  the 
laborious  farming  which  made  men  too  slowly  rich  '-back  in  the 
States."  The  larger  part  of  the  Wallamet  Valley  was  taken  up 
under  the  Oregon  Donation  Law  of  1850,  which  gave  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres  to  a  married  man,  and  the  same  amount 
to  his  wife  in  her  own  right.  This  brought  early  marriages  into 
fashion,  the  courting  which  preceded  it  being  often  accom- 
plished while  the  would-be  husband  sat  on  his  cayuse,  and  the 
not  unwilling  bride  of  thirteen  or  fourteen  summers  stood  on 
the  door-step.  Large  families  who  took  up  in  this  way  adjoin- 
ing square  miles  were  able  to  call  a  whole  township  their  own. 


(I 


•   '!' 


114 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


But  that  was 


!l 


•  If 

J   i 
•  11 

$ 

.   1     ^ 

' !' ! 

1    ! 


:v    ii 

i! 

jjl      , 

!      1    - 

"In  the  olden,  golden 
Time,  long  ago." 


Many  a  faimer  sold  his  hind,  when  remote  from  the  settle- 
ments, for  a  merely  nominal  price,  and  went  to  reside  in  a  town 
where  he  could  send  his  children  to  t>chool,  in  ante  railroad  days, 
tijus  losing  the  heiietit  the  government  intended  to  bestow  upon 
the  pioneers  of  this  far-away  region.  That  did  not,  however, 
prevent  his  "living  by  the  copulation  of  cattle,"  as  the  broad 
acres  of  the  valley  were  unfenced  for  the  most  part,  and  his 
herds  wandered  whithersoever  they  would.  Eailroads  are  fast 
stamping  out  this  primitive  form  of  civilization,  which  is  re])laced 
by  scientific  farming,  and  this  means  coiifiiiing  stock  to  certain 
boundaries  and  ])i-oviding  for  tlieir  subsistence.  The  farmer  of 
the  Waliamet  Valley  could  not  compete  in  stock-raising  with 
the  herders  on  the  cheaper  lands  of  the  East  Oregon  ranges, 
because  his  land  was  too  valuable  for  other  purposes  ;  nor  could 
he  compete  with  the  stock-raisers  on  the  coast  ranges  where 
grain-farming  is  impracticable,  and  where  the  moisture  from  the 
sea  keeps  green  tlie  gi'ass  and  herbage  the  summer  through. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  valle}-  wheat  was  the  only  cereal 
raised,  and  was  used  alike  for  food  and  for  currency,  a  wheat 
certificate,  like  a  silver  certificate  of  to-day,  being  a  legal  tender, 
and  the  only  money  in  circulation  before  the  discovery  of  gold. 
The  principal  crops  still  are  wheat,  oats,  and  barley,  in  the  order 
named.  The  Avheat  crop  for  1890  in  this  valley  is  estimated  at 
two  hundred  and  fifiy  thousand  tons,  most  of  which  goes  to 
foreign  parts.  This  large  trafHc  in  wheat  began  about  1870, 
when  the  first  twenty  miles  of  the  Oregon  and  California  Rail- 
road were  completed.  The  same  ships  which  brought  out  the 
rails  from  England  took  back  cargoes  of  Oregon  wheat.  Previous 
to  this  time  farmers  had  hauled  their  grain  to  Portland,  or  to 
the  other  river  towns,  where  it  was  boated  to  Portland  and  thence 
shipped  to  San  Francisco.  For  a  long  time  this  Oregon  product 
was  shipped  abroail  as  California  wheat,  and  from  its  large  size 
and  fine  appearance  was  a  credit  to  the  State  which  exported  it. 
But,  see  how  time  makes  all  things  even.  Millers  have  found 
out  that  Oregon  wheat  is  rather  too  soft,  and  is  improved  by 
mixing  with  California's  shrunken  grain,  and  also  that  California 


1  ; 


FURTHER   REMARKS   ON   WEST   OREGON. 


115 


flour  gains  by  mixing  with  Oregon  wlieat.     So  tho  dry  and  the 
moist  climates  contribute  to  each  other. 

Oregon  flour,  notwithstanding  this  prejudice,  sells  well  in 
foreign  markets,  and  has  established  itself  in  the  markets  of 
China  and  Japan,  four  hundi'ed  tons,  in  1890,  being  shipped 
monthly,  the  failure  of  the  rice  crop  opening  the  way  for  its 
introduction,  and  it  is  predicted  that  within  another  decade  the 
Orient  will  consume  the  entire  wheat  product  of  the  Pacific  coast. 
Hops  are  a  pi"ofitable  crop,  especially  in  the  coast  counties 
and  the  rich  bottom-lands  about  the  head  of  tho  Wallamet. 
Root  crops  and  vegetables  ai'e  fine  and  abundant.  Potatoes 
make  a  good  yield,  and  are  excellent  in  quality.  Onions  are 
large,  of  a  mild  flavor,  and  as  a  crop  very  profitable.  Cabbages 
are  large,  and  tho  leaf  is  tender.  All  garden  products  grow 
thriftily,  and  are  of  good  quality  ;  and  when  the  season  of  the 
annual  exhibit  arrives,  which  is  in  the  latter  par'  of  September, 
the  farmers  are  able  to  make  a  surprising  show.  But  it  is  in 
the  spring  and  early  summer  that  you  have  cause  to  criticise  the 
Oregon  producer.  All  the  "  earlies"  on  your  table  came  from  Cali- 
fornia, are  high  in  price,  and  lacking  in  freshness.  Why  not 
force  the  growth  of  certain  spring  edibies,  and  hasten  those  of 
summer  by  hot-house  cultivation  ? — why,  only  that  the  farmers 
and  gardeners  are  as  "conservative"  as  the  capitalists. 

The  dairies  of  Oregon  do  not  supply  the  resident  population, 
notwithstanding  this  was  originally  a  cattle  country.  The 
reason  has  been  jDointed  out;  still  the  fact  remains  that  the 
common  red  clover  whose  roots  go  down  to  a  great  depth,  would 
endure  the  drouth  of  the  rainless  season,  would  seed  itself,  and 
become  green  with  the  first  showers  of  autumn,  furnishing  an 
evergreen  crop  on  which  to  keep  milch  cows  in  condition. 
Most  of  the  hay  cut  in  Oregon  is  from  the  natural  grasses.  Oats 
are  raised  for  ha}-,  which  is  fed  to  horses ;  but  timoth}-,  which 
v/ould  do  so  much  for  the  dairy  interest,  is  neglected  very  gener- 
ally. The  farmers  are,  however,  in  eas\'  circumstances,  and  prob- 
ably care  nothing  about  a  tourist's  opinion  of  their  methods. 

The  fruits  raised  in  the  Wallamet  Valley  are  apples,  pears, 
plums,  cherries,  and  prunes.  Peaches  grow  well  in  some  localities, 
but,  like  Indian  corn,  they  prefer  the  more  southern  portion  of  the 
State.    Small  fruits  are  abundant  and  excellent.     Grapes  do  not 


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116 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


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generally  do  well,  except  the  Concord,  which  ripens  doliciously  ; 
but  all  the  fruits  above  named  are  of  superior  excellence. 

The  very  best  land  for  fruit-raising  is  that  which  has  grown 
a  forest  upon  its  soil.  To  clear  it  costs  on  an  average  forty 
dollars  per  acre.  An  orchard  near  the  mouth  of  the  Clackamas 
is  planted  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  varieties  of  apples, 
fourteen  varieties  of  pears,  twelve  of  plums,  five  of  prunes, 
three  of  quinces,  and  three  of  grapes,  besides  the  small  fruits, 
and  walnuts,  butternuts,  and  almonds. 

The  price  of  grain-land  varies  according  to  location,  ^'rom  five 
to  fifty  or  even  two  hundred  dollars,  but  fair  farming- lands  ten 
miles  away  from  towns  can  be  purchased  at  from  twenty-five  to 
forty  dollars.  The  foot-hill  lands,  which  are  covered  with  hazel 
and  other  brush,  and  wl.ich  make  good  fruit-farms,  *n  be  pur- 
chased cheaply.  There  is  not  any  large  amount  of  unsurveyed  or 
government  land  in  this  part  of  the  State,  and  that  which  remains 
is  in  the  mountains.  The  State  lands  in  West  Orcijon  that  were 
immediately  available  are  nearly  all  sold  off,  but  some  pieces 
can  still  be  found  which  are  either  overlooked  or  in  the  hands 
of  speculators  who  do  not  hold  them  high.  The  coming  legis- 
lature, it  is  thought,  will  increase  the  i)rice  of  school-land,  which 
it  ought  to  have  done  years  ago.  The  amount  of  government 
land  sold  in  West  Oregon  during  the  ymr  just  ended  was  four 
hundred  and  ninety-two  thousand  acres, — two  hundred  and 
ninety-two  thousand  in  and  bordering  on  the  Wallamet  Valley, 
and  two  hundred  thousand  in  Southwestern  Oregon. 

Columbia  is  the  most  northerly  county  of  this  division  of 
Oregon,  and  really  belongs  to  the  Columbia  Valley,  as  it  faces 
the  Columbia  River.  It  is  heavily  timbered  and  mountainous, 
with  some  rich  farming-lands  lying  along  the  river  and  on  the 
farther  side  of  the  hills.  Its  forest  is  underlaid  with  coal,  iron, 
and  other  minerals,  which  will  some  day  make  it  one  of  the 
most  wealthy  districts  of  the  State. 

South  of  Columbia  is  Washington  County, — the  Tualatin 
Plains  of  the  pioneers, — which  is  one  of  the  oldest  settled 
portions  of  Oregon,  and  belongs  to  the  wheat-growing  lands, 
Hillsboro',  the  county -seat,  was  founded  in  1850,  by  David  Hill, 
one  of  the  executive  committee  under  the  provisional  govern 
ment  of  1843.    The  population  is  about  eight  hundred. 


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FURTHER   REMARKS   ON    WEST   OREGON. 


117 


Forest  Grove  is  the  seat  of  the  Pacific  University,  with  a 
population  of  about  one  tlionsand.  The  college  is  under  the 
patronage  of  the  Congregational  Church,  although  it  is  non- 
sectarian  in  its  teachings.  It  was  founded  in  1848  by  Eev. 
Harvey  Clark  and  Mrs.  Tabitha  Brown,  both  of  whom  gave 
almost  all  their  worldly  posscs-sions  and  their  personal  efforts 
to  the  work.  The  names  of  Marsh,  Lyman,  Collier,  and  Con- 
don are  associated  with  its  gfowth.  Its  grounds  and  buildings 
are  estimated  at  fifty  thousand  dollars ;  cabinet  and  apparatus, 
four  thousand  dollars;  productive  funds,  cigiity-thrco  thousand 
dollars,  with  a  library  of  five  thousand  volumes.  The  town  of 
Forest  Grove  is  laid  out,  as  its  name  implies,  among  the  beauti- 
ful oak-groves  at  the  base  of  a  spur  of  the  Coast  Mountains, 
half  a  mile  from  the  Southern  Pacific  (west-side)  Eaih-oad. 
Cornelius,  Dilly.  and  Gaston  are  stations  along  the  line  of  the 
road  in  this  county,  and  Greenville  is  a  farming  settlement  in  a 
superb  agricultural  district. 

Yamhill,  or  Che-am-ill,  the  Indian  word  for  "bald  hills,"  is 
next  south  of  Washington.  It  is  one  of  the  earliest-settled  and 
most  beautiful  parts  of  Oregon.  In  fact,  the  early  patent  of 
nobility  in  this  region  was  to  hail  from  Yamhill.  The  county- 
seat  is  McMinnville,  with  a  population  of  two  thousand  two 
hundred.  It  is  situated  on  the  Yamhill  River,  and  has  com- 
munication by  rail  with  all  the  important  points  on  the  west 
side  of  the  valley  and  with  San  Francisco. 

Lafayette,  a  pi'etty  place  a  few  miles  away,  was  formerly  the 
county-seat,  but  lost  this  distinction  through  too  much  "  conserv- 
atism." Dayton,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yamhill  River,  is  another 
pretty  town,  of  five  hundred  inhabitants  and  a  good  trade. 
Sheridan,  the  most  western  point  on  the  Oregonian  Railway,  is 
nestled  up  at  the  foot  of  the  Coast  Range  near  old  Fort  Hos- 
kins,  and  has  a  population  of  four  hundred.  There  are  eight 
other  small  towns  in  this  county,  which  is  celebrated  for  its 
yield  of  grain. 

Crossing  the  beautiful  Che-am-ill  Range,  we  have  a  charming 
view  q£  the  country,  and  see  again  the  familiar  peaks  of  the 
Cascade  Mountains.  South  of  Yamhill  we  find  ourselves  among 
the  fertile  rolling  hills  and  alluvial  valleys  of  Polk  County. 
Although  full  of  resources  in  soil,  building-stone,  timber,  cabinet 


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118 


ATLANTIS    ARISEN. 


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woods,  and  minerals,  Polk  County  has  few  towns  of  any  size. 
Dallas  is  the  county-seat,  with  about  seven  hundred  inhabitants. 
It  is  situated  on  the  RicUreal  (corruption  of  La  Creole)  Eiver, 
nearly  opposite  Salem,  in  a  charming  region. 

Concerning  names  and  their  origin,  there  arc  many  absurd 
conjectures  made,  (juite  as  ludicrous  as  the  fre([uent  misnomers. 
I  road  the  other  day  that  Joiiquin  Miller  gave  the  origin  of  the 
name  of  the  Walla  Walla  tribe  to  br  i  i  the  French  ejaculation 
Voild,  voild !  Mr.  Miller  cannot  have  read  Lewis  and  ClarUe  with 
much  attention  not  to  know  that  the  Walla  Walla  tribe  existed 
belbie  any  French  vovageur  dipped  paddle  in  the  Columbia. 
Lewis  and  Clarke  spell  the  W(»rd  Wullawullah. 

The  most  delightful  instance  that  I  remember  to  have  seen 
ol'  the  corruption  of  names  was  given  by  a  newspaper  corre- 
spondent from  Colorado.  The  vSpanish  name  of  a  river  in  the 
southern  part  of  tliat  State  is  El  Rio  de  los  Animos, — River  of 
Souls.  This  correspondent,  not  being  acquainted  with  Spanish 
particles,  says  of  Lost  Souls, — and  further,  that  the  French  fur- 
traders,  leai-ning  its  meaning,  called  it  L'urgatoire,  or  Purgatory 
River,  which  the  "bull-whacker  of  the  overland  trail,"  in  his 
efforts  to  master  the  French,  pronounced  Picket-wire! 

Lying  west  of  Yamhill  and  Polk  is  Tillamook  County,  of 
which  it  is  said  '•  there  is  no  district  of  the  Northwest  so  full  of 
possibilities.  A  magnificent  soil,  a  heavenly  climate,  and  scenery 
that  would  delight  the  heax'ts  of  poets  and  painters  are  here  as 
they  are  nowhere  else  ;  but  its  streams  and  rivers,  its  roads  and 
its  dales,  its  valleys,  glens,  and  ravines  are  given  over  to  ihe 
empire  of  loneliness." 

I  am  not  authority  for  this  glowing  statement,  which  may  bo 
taken  cwm  salis,  but  am  ready  to  believe  from  collateral  evidence 
that  it  is  the  isolation,  rather  than  the  i)rcsuined  ruggednes.s,  of 
this  coast  county  which  has  heretofore  raidced  it  lower  than  its 
relatives  on  the  hither  side  of  the  mountains.  It  has  a  sea-coast 
of  sixty  miles  in  extent,  and  six  rivers  discharging  into  the  sea, 
one  of  which,  Tillamook,  has  a  good  harbor  at  its  entrance. 
This  bay  was  named  by  Ijewis  and  Clarke,  who  made  an  ex- 
cursion to  it  in  the  spring  of  180G.  About  one-fourth  of  this 
county  is  occupied  as  an  Indian  reservation. 

Like  other  coast  counties,  Tillamook  has  been  cut  off  dui-ing 


FURTIIKR    REMARKS   ON    WKHT   ORKGON. 


119 


a  groat  part  of  the  year  by  the  badness  of  the  road  over  the 
mountains,  and  the  uncertainty  of  tlie  route  by  sou.  Bnt  the 
Astoria  and  Albany  Railroad  Company  has  promised  to  open  up 
this  country.  When  the  road  is  constructed  there  will  hv  a 
market  for  the  hiinber,  tish,  game,  fruit,  hay,  vegetables,  dairy 
products,  and  coal  of  this  region,  it  will  traverse,  so  it  is  said, 
the  valleys  of  the  Miami,  Nehalem,  and  Wilson  Rivers,  entering 
the  Wallamet  Valley  near  Forest  Grove.  It  is  estimated  that 
there  are  ten  million  dollars'  worth  of  "  stumpage"  in  Tillamoolc 
County.  The  lumber  which  will  be  manufactured  there  will 
furnish  business  for  a  railroad. 

The  town  of  Tillamook,  on  the  Trask  River,  is  the  county- 
seat,  with  a  p()pulalion  of  six  hundred,  and  has  a  saw-mill, 
bank,  church,  school-house,  court-house,  and  two  newsjjapers. 
Bay  City  is  located  on  Tillamook  Bay,  at  the  head  of  deep- 
water  navigation,  about  five  miles  ^'-om  the  sea.  Its  present 
population  is  about  two  hundred,  but  its  future,  I  am  told,  is 
considered  assured.  The  Bay  City  Land  Company  have  taken 
it  in  charge,  and  what  land  companiv.s  can  do  has  been  demon- 
strated. "A  }0ung  man  willing  to  woi'k,"  going  there  now, 
might  turn  out  a  millionaire  at  forty.  The  experiment  is  worth 
trj'ing,  and  doubtless  will  be  tried. 

The  valley  of  the  Nehalem  River,  which  is  the  northern 
boundary  of  Tillamook  County,  is  the  seat  of  the  Nehalem  Co- 
operative Colony  of  Western  Oi'cgon,  an  association  which  is 
putting  in  practice  Edward  Bellamy's  socialistic  ideas.  Accord- 
ing to  the  report  of  the  chief  of  the  department  of  production 
of  the  colony,  the  experiment  is  resulting  favorably.  The  colony 
consists  of  twenty-tive  men,  six  women,  and  thirty-tive  children. 
The  societ}'  put  in  three  thousand  dollars  four  years  ago,  and 
now  owns  a  plant  for  which  they  have  been  offered  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  their  property  including  four 
thousand  acres  of  land. 

The  water  on  the  bar  at  the  entrance  to  Tillamook  Bay  is 
from  ten  to  thirteen  feet  at  low  tide,  with  good  anchorage  in- 
side. "When  the  jetty  system  has  been  applied,  the  channel 
deepened  six  or  eight  feet,  and  a  light-house  erected,  the  en- 
trance will  be  safe  for  any  vessels  except  those  of  the  largest  size. 

A  light-house  was  erected  on  a  rock  about  a  mile  from  the 


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120 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


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coast  at  Tillamook  Ucad,  thirty  miloa  north  of  tho  bay,  in  1879. 
Tliis  appears  to  bo  tho  wildest  spot  on  the  coast.  Tho  rock  rose 
one  hundi'cd  feet  above  tho  water,  and  was  only  largo  enough  to 
afford  ground  room  for  tho  workmen  to  carry  on  their  opei-ations. 
In  the  month  of  October  four  men  were  put  ujiun  tho  rock  with 
tools  and  provisions.  Only  when  the  sea  was  smooth  could  a 
boat  reach  the  rock,  and  when,  a  few  days  later,  five  men  at- 
tempted to  land  there,  tho  foreman  was  drowned.  The  eight 
lomaining  men  suffered  all  tho  discomforts  of  shii)wrecked 
sailors,  their  only  shelter  from  rain  and  sj)ray  being  a  heavy 
canvas  tied  to  ringbolts  fastened  in  tiie  rock.  They  qiuiri'iod  out 
a  cove  and  built  a  cabin  in  it,  which  they  boked  lo  tho  face  of 
tho  cliff.  Tho  next  move  was  to  quany  steps  from  the  landing 
to  tho  top  of  the  rock,  having  to  work  a  part  of  the  time  on  a 
staging  hung  from  tho  suniinit.  Ol'ton  the  weather  would  not 
permit  them  to  work  at  all.  and  in  Janu.iry  they  had  a  hurri- 
cane which  dashed  tho  waves  to  the  top  of  tho  rock.  Their 
supplies  were  washed  away,  and  they  expected  to  follow,  but 
wore  HO  fortunate  as  to  outlive  the  buffeting  their  cabin  received 
from  the  elements.  Jt  was  sixteen  days  before  their  situation 
could  be  made  known  to  persons  on  shore.  A  line,  fastened  to 
the  top  of  the  rock  and  oast  loose,  was  picked  up  by  a  ship,  and 
supplied  were  transferiod  f?.'om  the  ship's  mast  to  the  rock.  By 
May  the  quarrymen  had  out  down  tho  rock  to  a  height  of  eighty 
feet,  and  made  a  level  place  lor  the  light-house.  In  June  the 
corner-stone  was  laid,  iUi-.i  on  every  fair  day  a  load  of  hewn 
material  was  taken  out  to  the  rock,  and  tho  building,  fifty  feet 
squai'o,  constructed,  in  which  were  rooms  for  the  keeper  of  the 
light,  with  a  room  for  the  fog-signal  machincrj-.  Tho  tower 
was  raised  forty-eight  feet,  placing  the  lantern  one  hundred  and 
thirty-six  feet  above  the  sea-level,  and  in  January,  1881,  tho 
light  was  put  in  (operation.  One  month  before  a  ship  had  gone 
ashore,  and  twenty  lives  been  lost  within  a  mile  ©f  the  light- 
house. In  some  winter  storms  the  waves  have  tossed  boulders 
as  large  as  cannon-balls  over  tho  top  of  the  tower. 

The  coast  of  Oregon  in  a  '•  sou'wester"  is  extremely  inhos- 
pitable. In  summer  it  is  much  resorted  to  for  pleasure,  and  has 
been  so  from  the  time  of  the  earliest  setdement  in  tho  Walla- 
mct  Valley  to  the  present.     The  sea-beach  at  Tillamook,  or  the 


II  ii' 


FURTHER    RRMARKS   ON    WEST   OREGON. 


121 


mouth  of  Salmon  River,  in  Polk  County,  was  a  favorito  rosort 
for  the  people  of  the  central  portion  of  the  valley.  To  come 
here  in  July,  camp  out  two  or  thrco  weoUs,  fish,  ride,  hunt,  and 
eat  "  rofk-oyHtors"  and  bla(;l<l>oi'rioH,  was  thouifht  to  be  a  sani- 
tary as  well  as  a  recreative  measure.  The  "rock-oyster,"  so 
called  because  it  is  embedded  in  sandstone  rock,  has  to  be 
released  fn-m  captivity  by  hard  blows  with  a  hamraor.  When 
extricated,  it  is  pear-shaped,  with  the  impression  of  a  scalloped 
shell  on  the  broad  b;ise  of  the  soft  shell  which  encloses  it.  At 
the  small  end,  where  the  stem  of  a  pear  would  be,  is  a  foot  oi- 
feck-r  projecting,  not  only  out  of  the  shell,  but  reaching  out 
through  an  air-hole  in  the  stem,  and  probabl}^  used  to  secure 
food.  They  are  never  found  above  title-water,  and  are  common, 
I  think,  to  the  California  coast  as  well,  as  I  have  seen  them  of 
all  sizes  at  Santa  Cruz. 

Crossing  the  plains  gave,  I  fancy,  a  habit  of  out-door  life  to 
the  earlj'  Oregonians  which  their  children  have  inherited.  To 
"go  camping"  every  summer  is  their  delight,  and  they  cling 
to  the  primitive  custom  of  camp-meetings, — "  basket  meetings" 
they  are  called.  That  '•  the  groves  were  God's  first  temples" 
seems  natural  enough  in  "  the  continuous  woods  where  rolls  the 
Oregon."  The  devotional  spirit  comes  more  easily  and  quickly, 
and  with  more  power,  in  immediate  contact  with  ITature,  than 
when  coaxed  and  stimidated  into  exercise  by  the  appliances  of 
art.  In  the  age  when  architecture  was  really  and  ti-uly  an  art, 
this  truth  was  seized  upon;  and  those  grand  cathedrals  which 
still  remain  the  gloiy  ef  Eui'opq,  in  their  pointed  roofs,  fretted 
arches,  and  long  colonnades,  their  deep  shadows,  and  windows 
of  colored  glass,  staining  the  light  they  transmitted  to  the  colors 
of  Nature's  choicest  hues,  were  intended  to  express  that  solemn 
and  subtil(j  sense  of  beauty,  which,  in  the  presence  of  great 
Nature,  lifts  the  heart  above  and  away  from  mean  or  trivial 
considerations. 

The  people  on  the  east  side  of  the  v.alley  who  do  not  go  to  the 
seacoast  find  no  lack  of  delightful  summer  camps  among  the 
foot-hills  of  the  Cascade  Mountains.  The  eastern  half  of  Marion 
County  is  a  natural  park,  where  green  hills  overtopped  by 
snow-peaks,  solemn  foi'est  depths,  mountain  gorges,  precipitous 
cliff'Sj  lakes,  and  cataracts,  alternating  with  smiling  vales,  may 


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122 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


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be  reached  in  a  few  hours  of  travel.  Silver  Creek  Falls,  near 
Silverton,  Is  a  noted  resort  of  the  Salem  people.  The  creek 
drops  off  a  projecting  shelf  of  rock  one  hundred  and  eighty 
feet  in  height,  being  dashed  into  a  white  cloud  of  8pra\-.  The 
visiter  may  stand  behind  this  misty  veil  and  look  through  a 
cloud  of  rainbows.  On  another  branch  of  the  stream,  at  no 
great  distance,  is  a  similar  cataract.  There  are  mineral  springs 
in  Marion  and  Linn  Counties,  chiefly  soda,  wiilch  are  fitted  up 
with  conveniences  for  invalid  visitoi's ;  but  Oregon  has  not  yet 
attempted  a  fa.3'.;ionable  watering-place. 

Bexiton  County,  next  south  of  Polk  and  Tillamook,  extends 
from  tl'.e  l■i^•er  to  the  sea,  being  prairie  land  in  the  eastern  end, 
and  having  rolling,  mountain,  and  coast  lands  to  the  west,  giv- 
ing it  adaptability  to  all  kinds  of  farming,  dairying,  and  wool- 
growing,  and  facilities  for  manufaefures  of  \arious  kinds.  The 
Oregon  Pacific  traverses  it,  and  it  has  seaports  of  its  own  at 
laquina  and  Alseya  Bays.  The  Alse3'a  River  rises  in  Mary's 
Peik  near  Corvallis,  and  runs  west  to  the  ocean.  The  Yaquina 
River  flows  into  the  bay  of  that  name. 

Lane  County,  the  largest  in  the  Wallamct  Valley,  extend- 
ing from  the  Cascade  Range  to  the  sea  coast,  combines  rare 
agricultural  and  manufacturing  opportunities.  If  embraces 
within  its  limits  the  three  forks  of  the  Wallamet,  besides  that 
west  branch  bearing  the  sobriquet  of  Long  Tom,  and  contains 
thousands  of  aci'es  of  either  grain,  pasture,  or  timbered  lands, 
with  abundance  of  water-power, — in  fact  the  resources  of  a  State 
more  than  twice  as  large  as  Rhode  Island.  To  the  eye  Lane 
County  presents  a  diversity  of  surface  which  is  very  attractive, 
— prairies  that  from  level  become  undulating  ;  aills  that  from 
long  swells,  scantily  wooded,  rise  gradually  into  high  mountains 
with  crowns  of  evergreen  forest,  with  pretty  little  valleys  stretch- 
ing along  the  numerous  streams. 

The  climate  in  this  portion  of  the  Wallamet  Valley  is  rather 
drier  than  at  the  north  end.  The  elevation  above  the  Columbia 
is  four  hundred  feet.  It  is  a  beautiful  sight  to  behold  the  lux- 
uriant wheat-fields  about  the  last  of  June.  Just  before  the  grain 
begins  to  ripen,  and  when  the  elegant  Liliuni  Washingtonium  — 
Oregon's  emblematic  flower — stands  head  and  shoulders  above 
the  nodding  stalks,  scenting  all  the  air  with  its  fragrance. 


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FURTHER   REMARKS  ON   WEST  OREGON. 


123 


Mt 


0 


The  entire  area  of  Ihe  Wallumet  Valley  has  almost  no  waste 
land  in  it,  and  most  of  it  is  under  improvement,  although  not  by 
any  means  all  well  cultivated.  The  old  donation  law,  which 
gave  so  much  land  to  actual  settlers,  operated  to  prevent  close 
neighborhood  and  consequent  improvement,  with  good  farming, 
school  privileges,  and  roads  Uept  in  repair.  The  influx  of  pop- 
ulation within  a  few  years  lias  changed  the  old  order  of  things 
to  a  consideral)ie  extent,  but  not  yet  thoroughly. 

People  are  beginning  to  understand  that  a  few  aci'cs  well 
tilled  are  be'ter  than  many  left  in  neglect.  Fruit-farming  on 
from  five  to  forty  acres  is  coming  into  fashion,  to  the  benefit  of 
all  concerned.  It  is  said  that  five  acres  of  cleared  timber-land 
will  support  a  family  in  comfort.  Until  recently  Oregon  made 
no  attempt  to  raise  fruit  for  export,  except  apples  to  California. 
This  year  choice  apples  were  shipped  to  England,  and  pears, 
plums,  and  peaches  to  Chicago.  Man'  prune  orchards  are  being 
set  out,  this  fruit  being  most  profitable  for  export  in  a  dried 
state. 

Before  closing  my  remarks  on  the  western  portion  of  Oregon 
I  will  subdue  my  dread  of  tables  sufficiently  to  present  one 
giving  the  comparative  condition  cf  the  several  counties  at  the 
commencement  of  1890,  including  also  Southern  Oregon. 


•s 

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Dollars. 

o 

hN 

Dollars. 

H 

Dollars. 

Dollars. 

Dnllars. 

Dollars. 

Dollars. 

Benton    .  . 

32".,9ii7 

2,188,749 

551,492 

,303,097 

4,894.000 

877,864 

234,820 

3,765,200 

Clackamas 

;!()i,rK><) 

2,241,418 

500,970 

309,913 

4,544,258 

1,375,011 

354,777 

2,842,409 

CMntsop   .  . 

123.%- 

1,995,777 

2,.591,047 

217,209 

7,002,483 

l,04O„58O 

74,928 

4.101,328 

(^oluiubiii  . 

21'J.5G7 

627,360 

37.580 

179,915 

1 ,249,837 

168,046 

131,137 

850,654 

Coos  .... 

291,iK)3 

1,292,892 

335,033 

243,884 

2,015,875 

389,001 

249,549 

1,976,705 

Curry  .  .  . 

93,;te0 

331,270 

12,155 

125,543 

663,777 

107,053 

64,775 

489,949 

Douglas  .   . 

47i),3?T 

179.44.1 

212.ia') 

489,205 

4  208.975 

1,128,655 

298,010 

2,781,710 

Jackson  .  . 

192.371 

l,ir)2,693 

2'.'-2,441 

318,761 

3,23.5,317 

686,971 

271,708 

2,254,557 

Jostphine  . 

76,81'J 

393,130 

].>9,fi20 

112,231 

1.238,665 

210.840 

105,571 

9: 0,251 

Lane    .  .  . 

4f)().'J((ri 

2,783,981 

920,807 

006,943 

6,009,,577 

1,292,192 

515.062 

4,802,323 

Liini     .  .   . 

4(>3,()r)() 

4,7.")6,421 

908,463 

r)O0,132 

7,89- ,211 

1,791,3,57 

405,349 

5,029,813 

Marion    .   . 

39(1.037 

4  413,380 

1,4SS.9(S 

.5?  1,058 

9,2U9,269 

2,370,529 

521,311 

0,317,429 

Mnltiioma!) 

ir>8..1l)2 

6,.17I,S10 

16,038,970 

IV  8,1 85 

40.099,000 

10,170.500 

213,770 

29.084,670 

Polk  .... 

233,27o 

1,874,000 

50,790 

321,700 

3,937,689 

1,017  250 

253,925 

2,006,514 

Tillamook  . 

99.011 

485.094 

30,8-15 

112,153 

840,351 

163,107 

93,:">01 

583,593 

WasliingloM 
Yamhill.  . 

2.")9,r)(i2 

2,934,615 

236,9.55 

3(i6,595 

4,890,130 

1,217,025 

382,535 

3,290.570 

1,811,121 

2,»H0,285 

99,845 

431,277 

6,122,014 

1,719,937 

357,206 

3  972,871 

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124 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


The  amount  of  mortgages  recorded  against  property  in 
Multnomah  County  is  $3,626,730 ;  Benton,  8202,438 ;  Clackamas, 
6423,076 ;  Marion,  $939,403,  and  Polk,  $294,164. 


CHAPTEE    X. 


:}! 


WHAT    I    SAW    IN    SOUTHERN    OREGON. 

The  southern  division  of  Western  Oregon  is  separated  from 
the  Wallamet  Valley  by  a  range  of  low  mountains  known  as  the 
Calapooyas.  Crossing  this  divide,  we  enter  the  Umpqua  Valley, 
or  series  of  valleys,  constituting  Douglas  County,  named  after 
Stephe  1  A.  Douglas,  and  extending  from  the  Cascade  Eange,  in 
the  direction  of  the  Umpqua  River,  to  the  ocean,  containing  an 
extent  of  territory  greater  than  any  county  of  its  age  in  the 
State,  notwithstanding  its  boundaries  have  several  times  been 
altered.     It  covers  an  area  of  four  thousand  square  miles. 

It  was  a  clear,  sharp,  October  morning,  when  I  first  left 
Eugene  to  go  down  into  Southern  Oregon.  As  the  stage  rattled 
out  of  town  in  the  direction  of  the  Umpqua,  I  took  a  last, 
lingering  look  at  the  fair,  level  valley  we  were  leaving;  at  the 
encircling  hills  of  russet-color,  dotted  with  bits  of  green,  in 
groups  of  oaks  or  pines;  of  Spencer's  Butte,  with  its  sharp, 
dark-tinted  cone  ;  and  of  the  blue  Cascades,  now  purpling  under 
the  morning  sunrise.  From  the  most  distant  mountains,  light- 
gray  mists  were  rising ;  in  the  middle  distance  was  a  purple 
interval ;  on  the  nearer  hills,  rich,  j^ellovv  sunlight.  The  orb  of 
day  was  not  yet  high  enough  to  shine  on  the  hither  side  of  the 
peaks  behind  which  he  was  mounting.  They  stood  in  their  own 
shadow,  and  let  his  slant  beams  bridge  the  valleys  between  their 
royal  heights,  until  they  rested  on  the  humbler  foot-hills  among 
which  we  were  wending  our  way,  and  touched  with  a  golden 
radiance  the  yellow  leaves  of  the  m.aples  or  silvered  the  ripples 
in  the  Wallamet  water. 

Such  gorgeousness  of  color  never  shone,  out  of  the  tropics,  as 
the  vine-maple,  ash,  and  white-maple  display,  along  the  streams 
in  this  part  of  Oregon.     I  had  thought  them  bright,  glowing. 


WHAT    I   SAW   IX   SOUTHERN    OREGON. 


125 


radiant,  on  the  Columbia  and  Lower  Wallamot  j  but  nowhere 
had  I  found  thorn  so  brilliant  as  at  the  head  of  the  Wallamet 
Valley.  And,  as  we  afterwards  ascertained,  this  is  nearly  the 
southern  limit  of  the  beautiful  vine-maple.  It  was  almost  in 
vain  that  we  looked  for  its  scarlet-flaming  thickets  fifty  miles 
farther  south,  and  at  a  hundred  miles  it  had  disappeared  from 
the  landscape  altogether. 

The  Umpqua  Valley,  which  I  could  imagine  in  its  June  iiash- 
ness,  was  now  sere  with  the  long  drought  of  a  rainless  summer. 
The  road,  however,  for  some  distance,  led  through  the  Calapooya 
Mountains,  and  the  goi'ge  of  a  creek,  where  the  thick  woods,  in 
places,  quite  excluded  the  sun, — almost  the  light  of  day.  Bright 
as  the  weather  was,  and  dr^  as  the  autumn  had  been,  there  was 
shadow,  coolness,  and  moisture  here,  among  ihe  thick-standing, 
giant  trees,  the  underwood,  and  the  ferns  and  mo.sses.  A  very 
pleasant  ride  on  such  a  morning,  but  one  which  might  bo  ex- 
ceedingly uncomfortable  in  the  vainy  season,  though  never  an 
uninteresting  one. 

Dry  as  was  the  valley  beyond,  it  was  still  beautiful,  one  so 
soon  learns  to  admire  the  soft  coloring  of  these  arid  countries, — 
the  pale  russet  hues  of  the  valleys,  the  neutral  tints  in  rocks 
and  fences,  the  quiet  dark-green  of  the  forests,  and  the  clear, 
pale,  unclouded  blue  of  the  heavens.  The  expression  of  these 
landscapes  is  that  of  soft  roposc.  Nature  herself  seems  resting, 
and  it  is  no  reproach  to  man  that  he,  too,  forgets  to  work,  and 
only  dreams.  But  the  men  of  this  period  ai'e  not  dreamers. 
Even  in  the  sacredest  haunts  of  Nature,  they  plot  business  and 
talk  railroad  !  I  certainly  thought  railroad,  as  ray  eyes  wandered 
over  this  beautiful,  but  isolated  valley.  But  that  was  in  a  time 
now  half  forgotten,  so  rapidly  do  conditions  change  in  this 
Northwest  empire. 

No  longer  without  connection  Avith  the  outside  world,  the 
Umpqua  Valley  is  emerging  from  its  former  condition  of  a 
gi'azing  and  wool-growing  region,  and  commencing  to  develop 
its  abundant  resources.  Unlike  the  Wallamot,  it  has  no  great 
extent  of  level  prairie-land  bordering  the  river  from  which  it 
takes  its  name,  but  is  a  rolling  countr}'-,  a  perfect  jumble  of  small 
valleys  and  intervening  ridges  ;  the  valleys  prairies,  nnd  the 
hills  wooied  with  fir  on  top,  but  generally  bare,  or  dotted  with 


126 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


;;l 
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i 


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oak,  on  their  \or\g  grassy  slopes.  It  is  a  sort  of  country  whoi'c 
a  man  may  seem  to  have  a  little  world  to  himself;  owning 
mountains,  hills,  plains,  and  water-courses,  or  at  least  springs  of 
water,  and  neither  overlooked  by  nor  at  any  great  distance 
from  a  neighbor. 

Douglas  Count}',  extending  from  the  Cascade  Mountains  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  with  a  seaport  of  its  own,  is  in  area  more  like 
a  State  than  a  simple  division  of  one.  Its  climate  differs  from 
that  of  the  VVallamet  as  much  as,  by  reason  of  its  more  southern 
latitude,  greater  elevation,  and  mingling  of  sea-breeze  Avith 
mountain  air,  it  might  be  expected  to.  The  result  is  salubrity 
and  productiveness.  Its  prairies  are  adapted  to  wheat  and  all 
cereals ;  its  creek-bottoms  to  Indian  corn,  melons,  and  vegetables  : 
its  foothills  to  fruit-raising;  and  its  uplands  to  grazing. 

The  same  general  variety  of  timber  grows  here  as  in  the  Walla- 
met  Valley,  and  a  few  kinds  in  addition.  The  evergreen  myrtle 
is  a  fine  cabinet  wood  not  found  in  Northern  Oregon;  the  wild 
plum  and  wild  grape  also  grow  here;  and  the  splendid  Rhodo- 
dendron maximum  is  a  tall  shrub,  bearing  a  wealth  of  deep  rose- 
colored  clusters  of  great  beauty.  The  botany  of  the  country  is 
very  rich.  Game  abounds  in  the  mountains,  fish  in  the  streams. 
I  saw,  in  October,  apple-  and  pear-trees  with  a  new  set  of  blos- 
soms, some  of  the  fruit  having  grown  as  large  as  a  gooseberry. 

In  considering  Douglas  County,  it  must  be  taken  into  account 
that  the  valleys  are  separated  from  the  most  western  portion 
by  the  Coast  Eange,  and  that  the  mountains  extend  within  a 
distance  of  forty  or  fifty  miles  of  the  sea.  The  passage  of  the 
river  through  the  mountains  is  a  turbulent  one,  and  the  scenery 
highly  romantic  and  alpine  in  its  character;  therefore  the  pre- 
vious remarks  on  agricultural  possibilities  do  not  apply  equally 
to  this  portion  of  the  county.  But  taken  altogether  its  re- 
sources are  numerous,  including  fruit-raising,  dairying,  agricul- 
ture, stock-raising,  wool-growing,  lumbering,  gold-mining,  coal, 
oil,  limestone,  marble,  sandstone,  salt-springs,  sulphur-  and  soda- 
springs,  salmon-  and  oyster-fishing,  and  the  last  disoovory  is 
natural-gas.  In  1880  Douglas  County  shipped,  it  is  said,  one 
million  pounds  of  wool,  and  sold  twenty-seven  thousand  sheep 
to  Nevada  farmers.  The  population  claimed  is  between  thirteen 
thousand  and  fourteen  thousand. 


WHAT   I   SAW    IN   SOUTHERN    OREGON. 


127 


The  first  town  deserving  any  notice  from  the  tcftirist  is  Drain, 
situated  just  where  the  railroad  emerges  from  the  Pass  Creek 
cafion  through  the  Cahvpooya  Mountains,  joining  Elk  Creek,  a 
hranch  of  the  Umpq'ui  Eiver.  This  place,  founded  iwclve  or 
fifteen  years  ago  by  Mr.  Drain,  an  old  resident  of  the  county, 
and  a  wliilom  State  legislator,  was  for  a  long  time  only  a 
station  where  passengers  for  Seottsburg,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Coast  Eange,  took  stage  for  the  rough  but  enjoyable  journey 
across  iho  mountains. 

And  here  I  cannot  refrain  from  sa^'ing  that  I  think  travel 
suffers  greatly  from  the  levelling  infiuence  of  railroads.  There 
is  nothing  in  the  traveller's  rapid  transit  by  the  straightest 
route,  through  the  lowest  passes,  across  the  outskirts  of  nature 
and  of  cities,  confined  to  a  seat  which  you  may  not  have  chosen, 
and  in  pi'opinquity  with  (perhaps)  ver}'  undesirable  fellow-travel- 
lers, eating  unwholesome!/,  and  sleeping  uncomfoitably,  to  com- 
])ensate  one  for  liberty  to  choose  his  route,  to  breathe  unpolluted 
air,  to  "  take  his  ease  in  his  inn"  when  he  chooses,  sleeping  and 
eating  in  comfort.  It  is  all  very  well  for  the  demands  of  com- 
merce to  be  satisfied  in  this  w^ay,  but  travel— why,  ofie  does  not 
travel:  le  is  snatched  and  tossed  from  place  to  place  wiohout 
having  enjoyed  one  of  the  foremost  purposes  of  travel,  which 
is  to  gain  health,  jjleasure,  and  instruction.  Railroads  ai'e  great 
civilizers  ;  but  they  also  need  to  be  civilised  in  some  directions. 

The  ride  from  Drain  to  >Scottsburg  furnishes  all  the  delights 
to  be  gathered  from  a  magnificent  forest,  alpine  heights,  awful 
declivities,  glimpses  of  a  rapid  river  dashing  itself  over  rocky 
obstructions,  the  balsamic  odors  of  the  Avoods,  pure  stimulating 
air,  social  converse,  an  hour  for  your  dinner,  and  a  friendly  inn 
at  your  journey's  end.  We  are  promised  that  all  this,  or  much 
of  it,  is  to  be  changed  in  a  year  or  two  by  a  railroad  f,  u.n  Drain 
to  the  ocean,  by  a  new  route,  and  with  new  towns  along  it. 
Glasgow  and  Reedville  are  two  which  are  not  yet  to  be  found 
on  the  maps. 

Seottsburg,  situated  at  the  head  of  tide-water,  was  named  for 
Levi  Scott,  its  founder,  in  1850.  A  military  road  once  connected 
it  with  the  interior,  but  the  great  flood  oi'  18(51-62  washed  away 
the  road  and  a  large  pai't  of  Seottsburg,  since  which  it  has 
steadily  declined.     An  attempt  was  made  to  render  the  river 


i! 

MM 


m 

Mm 


■m 


128 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


M 


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11 


navigable,  and  a  light-draught  steamer  was  built  to  run  up  to 
Eoseburg,  but  after  one  trip  the  enterprise  was  abandoned. 
The  town  is  situated  in  a  narrow  defile  on  the  north  bank  of 
the  river,  while  on  the  south  side  the  mountains  rise  abruptly 
to  a  gi*eat  height,  and  the  whole  aspect  of  the  place  is  as  Swiss 
as  anything  could  be  in  America. 

Eighteen  miles  below  Scottsbarg  is  Gardiner,  named  for  Cap- 
tain Gardiner  of  the  ''  Bostonian,"  a  vessel  wrecked  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  river  in  1850.  It  was  founded  by  a  San  Francisco 
company  in  1851.  Of  that  company,  two  were  afterwards  gov- 
ernors of  Oregon, — A.  C.  Gibbs  and  S.  P.  Chadwick.  Gardiner 
was  the  scat  of  a  customs-collection  ofiice  for  several  years,  but 
is  now  simply  a  milling-town;  A  salmon-cannery  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  river  puts  up  the  late  run  of  fish  in  the  Umpqua. 
From  Gardiner  to  the  sea,  about  eight  miles,  the  countiy  is 
a  sand}'  plain.  During  the  Indian  wars  in  Southern  Oregon, 
Fort  Umpqua  was  established  on  the  north  bank,  between 
Gardiner  and  the  ocean,  but  was  long  ago  abandoned.  Here 
General  Auger  was  stationed  during  his  ante-bellum  experience. 

The  mouth  of  the  Umpqua  has  not  a  very  good  reputation 
as  a  harbor,  many  vessels  having  been  wrecked  in  this  vicinity, 
and  only  those  in  the  lumber  ti'ade  go  in  and  out.  The  gov- 
ernment in  the  days  of  Generul  Lane's  delegateship  erected  a 
light-house  at  the  entrance  of  the  river,  but  upon  a  sandy  founda- 
tion, and,  when  the  rains  came  and  the  floods  fell  and  the  winds 
beat  upon  it,  it  fell,  and  has  never  been  replaced.  And  here  it 
may  be  justly  affirmed  that  the  government  has  been  remiss  ; 
for  there  are  but  four  light-houses  on  the  Oregon  coast  south 
of  the  Columbia  Eiver, —  namely,  at  Tillamook  Head  ;  Capo 
Fouhveather,  near  Yaquina  Bay ;  Cape  Arago,  near  Coos  Bay ; 
and  at  Cape  Blanco,  near  Port  Oxford. 

The  capacity  of  vessels  entering  the  Umpqua  for  lumber  is 
from  six  hundred  and  twenty-five  to  seventeen  hundred  nd 
fifiy  tons,  and  their  draught  twelve  to  fifteen  feet.  The  exports 
from  Umpqua  River  for  the  j-ear  last  past  amounted  to  28,926.8 
tons,  consisting  chiefly  of  lumber  and  laths,  the  remainder  being 
in  grain,  wool,  leather  (from  a  tannery  at  Scottsburg),  hides 
and  furs,  and  dairy  products.  The  import  in  machinery  and 
general  merchandise  was  fifteen  hundred  tons. 


WHAT   I   SAW    IX   SOUTHERN   OREGOX. 


129 


The  Siuslaw  (pronounced  Si-wse-law)  River,  which  separates 
Douglas  from  Lane  County,  has  an  entrance  which  might  be 
improved,  with  a  good  harbor  inside.  The  present  channel  is 
tortuous  and  shifting,  with  six  feet  at  low  water,  but  it  is  pos- 
sible to  carry  a  ten-foot  depth  nearly  to  the  head  of  tide,  a  dis- 
tance of  twenty  miles,  and  it  will  probably  be  so  improved  in  the 
near  future.  There  are  large  bodies  of  excellent  timber  on  this 
bay  which  would  then  bo  available.  A  project  is  already  on 
foot  to  build  a  rai'-'oad  to  the  Wallamet  Valley  whenever  the 
government  makes  desired  improvement  of  the  bar  and  channel. 
There  is  reported  a  fine  country  on  the  upper  Siuslaw. 

The  river  scenery  from  Gardiner  to  Scottsburg  strongly  re- 
sembles that  of  the  Columbia,  though  on  a  much  smaller  scale. 
The  river  is  in  places  very  shallow,  being  almost  quite  inter- 
rupted by  bars  of  rock,  which  engineering  is  busy  removing. 

Returning  to  Drain's  wo  find  just  beyond  here  Mount  Yoncalla 
(Eagle-bird,  in  the  Indian  tongue),  a  point  of  interest.  It  was 
for  nearly  forty  years  the  home  of  the  grandest  of  those/*  men 
of  destiny,"  as  he  himself  named  them,  who,  in  1843,  opened  a 
road  for  wagons  from  the  Missouri  to  the  Wallamet  Valley, — 
Jesse  Applegate,  "  the  sage  of  Yoncalla."  The  mansion  where 
he  dispensed  wisdom  and  a  free  hospitality  is  given  up  to 
strangers,  and  the  places  that  knew  him  shall  know  him  no 
more. 

Douglas  County  has  two  Methodist  academies,  one  at  Oak- 
land, on  a  branch  of  the  Umpqua  about  fifteen  miles  south  of 
Yoncalla.  and  another  at  Wilbur,  ten  miles  farther  south.  Both 
are  charming  locations.  Oakland  is  Arcadian  in  beauty,  its 
groves  and  natural  park-like  scenery  being  ideally  "  academic." 

The  North  Pork  of  the  Umpqua  is  to  bo  dammed  at  Win- 
chester, a  short  distance  from  Oalcland,  and  a  large  woollen-mill 
to  be  erected  there,  which  it  is  expected  will  be  followed  by 
other  manufactories. 

Roseburg,  originally  Deer  Creek,  the  present  county-seat  of 
Douglas,  and  named  after  its  founder,  Aaron  Rose,  has  a  popu- 
lation of  two  thousand  five  hundred.  It  is  the  gem  of  the 
Umpqua  Valley,  resting  upon  the  river  Umpqua,  where  it  is  a 
fine  large  stream  bounded  by  beautiful  park-like  oak  openings. 
Nothing  could  be  finer  than  the  sweep  of  the  river  as  it  comes 


% 


130 


^.TLANTIS   ARISEN. 


from  the  south,  the  railroad  on  one  side,  and  teeming  gardens 
and  attractive  houses  on  the  other.  A  handsome  bridge  spans 
it  in  the  centre  of  the  town.  Roseburg,  like  Drain,  is  to  have  a 
railroad  to  the  sea. 


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ROSEBURG. 


Proceeding  south  through  a  charming  country  to  the  Myrtle 
Creek  Hills,  the  scenery  at  this  place  strongly  suggests  Harper's 
Ferry,  without  its  costly  improvements.  Soon  we  enter  the 
caflon  of  Cow  Creek,  a  wild  and  wonderful  pass,  rendered  his- 
toric in  the  winter  of  1889-90  by  the  blockade  of  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad,  which  lasted  for  more  than  a  month.  This 
remarkable  obstruction  to  travel  was  occasioned  by  a  combina- 
tion of  causes,  but  primarily  by  the  construction  of  the  road 
itself  through  the  caflon,  and  the  cutting  away  the  foundation, 
so  to  speak,  of  the  steep  hill-side  where  it  occurred. 

Cow  Creek  is  a  pure  mountain  stream,  from  fifty  to  a  hundred 
feet  in  width,  not  very  deep  at  its  usual  stage,  but  very  crooked, 
the  rugged  points  around  which  it  makes  its  sharp  turns  neces- 
sitating frequent  tunnels.  As  the  caiion  is  narrow,  the  road 
had  to  be  cut  along  the  mountain-side  at  a  height  sufficient  to 


WHAT  I  SAW   IN   SOUTHERN   OREGON. 


131 


Ml    I 


insure  it  from  inundation  in  seasons  of  freshet.  The  pass  is 
forty-five  miles  in  length,  with  a  fall  of  from  seventy  to  one 
hundred  and  twenty  feet  to  the  mile.  Even  in  the  best  of  order, 
with  the  finest  weather,  one  is  conscious  of  a  feeling  of  inse- 
curity as  one  side  of  the  train  looks  down  on  nothing  nearer 
than  the  river-bed,  and  the  other  seems  ever  just  missing  the 
projecting  rocks.  Now  you  dash  across  a  bridge,  and  anon  you 
dart  into  a  tunnel. 

But  last  winter  (I  think  it  was  in  February)  the  thing  hap- 
pened,— not  the  one  we  were  looking  for, — it  is  always  the  un- 
expected which  happens, — something  which  might  have  been 
the  most  appalling  accident  in  railway  history  occurred.  More 
than  a  hundred  acres  of  earth,  softened  and  loosened,  with  its 
lower  side  cut  away,  rushed  down  upon  the  railroad,  completely 
burjnng  a  section  of  track,  obliterating  a  tunnel,  and  forcing 
itself  one  hundred  and  fifty  foet  up  the  opposite  mountain,  effect- 
ually damming  the  river  between.  Eails  twisted  and  doubled 
up,  with  ties,  tools,  wagons,  bridges,  and  shops,  were  carried  up 
the  mountain-side.  The  river  being  dammed  formed  a  lake 
above  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  depth, 
which,  however,  soon  forced  a  passage  for  itself,  when  the  accu- 
mulated waters,  in  a  wall  seventy-five  feet  high,  roared  down 
the  rocky  chasm  with  race-horse  speed,  carrying  trees,  earth, 
and  stones  upon  their  hissing  crest.  A  lake  a  mile  and  a  half 
in  length  and  sixty  feet  deep  still  remains  as  a  memento  of  this 
startling  occurrence.  Not  ten  minutes  before  the  slide  plunged 
down,  a  freight-train  passed  the  spot.  Fan*^  i- as  on  and  asks, 
What  if  a  passenger-train  had  been  hurled  across  the  river,  or  had 
been  imprisoned  in  the  tunnel  ?  Imagine  archaeologists  a  thou- 
sand years  hence,  when  people  travel  with  wings,  and  railways 
are  a  thing  of  the  past,  exploring  and  coming  upon  such  an  im- 
prisoned train,  or  even  upon  the  buried  tunnel, — what  specula- 
tions t  I  used  to  think  this  when  my  eyes  beheld,  painted  all 
along  the  rocky  cuts  of  the  Hudson  Kiver  Eailroad,  the  caba- 
listic letters  I.  X.  L. :  what  would  the  scientists  say  in  the  year 
5000,  when  cosmic  dust  had  buried  New  York  and  its  surround- 
ings out  of  sight,  about  the  meaning  of  these  characters?  The 
railroad  has  been  rebuilt  for  a  long  distance  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river. 


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132 


ATLANTIS    ARISEN. 


II 


From  Glondule,  at  tho  south  end  of  Cow  Creuk  Caflon,  wo 
travel  south,  past  tho  historic  localities  of  Wolf,  Lolaiid,  and 
Junip-off-Joe  Creeks,  scenes  of  »tru<^glo  between  the  aboriginal 
and  the  imported  inhal)itants  of  the  country  in  "the  fifties ;'" 
jiast  the  Lucky  Queen  mining-camp,  between  the  last  two 
streams,  to  Grant's  Pass,  so  named  from  an  opening  in  the  Coast 
Range  said  to  have  been  occupied  at  some  time  by  Captain — 
afterwards  General  —Grunt. 

This  town  is  in  Josephine  County,  situated  on  Rogue  River, 
and  is  a  creation  of  the  Oregon  and  California  Railroad.  In 
1883  it  contained  a  single  habitation — Dimmick's — on  the  old 
road  from  Portland  to  Sacramento.  In  that  year  it  was  laid  o' 
in  town  lots  by  some  far-seeing  speculator,  and  proved  so  g( 
a  location  that  today  it  is  the  seat  of  government  of  Josephine 
County,  with  a  population  of  three  thousand,  and  growing  in- 
dustries, chiefly  manufactures  in  wood,  this  being  the  centre  of 
the  su^ar-pine  district.  There  are  twenty  saw-mills  within  a 
radius  of  as  many  miles,  and  in  the  town  are  sash-,  door-,  and 
sliingle-factories,  breweries,  a  broom-  and  a  paint-factory.  The 
railroad  also  has  its  car-shops  and  round-house  here  ;  and  among 
the  improvements  under  way  are  an  iron  bridge  over  the  river, 
an  electric-light  plant,  a  water-works  system,  and  several  sub- 
stantial brick  blocks.  A  railroad  is  already  projected  from  here 
to  Crescent  City,  California,  eightj'-seven  miles,  and  thence 
down  the  coast  to  Eureka  in  that  State.  Such  a  road  would 
make  this  a  distributing  point  for  Southern  Oregon,  and  would 
greatly  reduce  the  high  freight  rates  which  have  heretofore 
prevailed  in  this  section  of  Oregon.  There  were  shipped  from 
here  over  the  Southern  Pacific  in  1889,  100  car-loads  of  choice 
watermelons,  73  of  cantaloupes,  82  of  sweet  potatoes,  87  of 
peaches,  830  of  apples,  11  of  nectarines,  19  of  grapes,  18,000 
pounds  of  almonds,  32,000  pounds  of  prunes,  48  car-loads  of 
hops,  36  of  broom-corn,  113  of  gold-quartz  worth  sixty-five 
dollars  per  ton,  $285,000  worth  of  gold-dust,  and  1878  car-loads 
of  sugar-pine  lumber  and  manufactured  wood- work.  The  ship, 
ments  extended  north  to  Seattle,  and  south  to  Los  Angeles. 
Land  is  not  yet  held  high  in  this  county,  nor  indeed  in  any  part 
of  Southern  Oregon ;  and  there  is  a  good  deal  still  open  to  entry, 
and  a  vast  amount  of  railroad  lands,  ranging  from  two  dollars 


WHAT   I  SAW   IN  SOUTHERN  OREGON. 


133 


and  fifty  cents  to  twenty  dollars  per  acre,  which  is  yot  to  bo 
settled.  Thiw  tells  the  story  of  the  resources  of  this  part  of 
Oregon  as  far  as  developed.  No  wheat  or  cereals, — it  wonld 
cost  too  much  to  ship  them  to  the  sea-board  ;  no  minerals  except 
gold  quartz, — they  are  not  mined  or  nuuiufuctured  for  a  similar 
reason.  Nothing  against  the  soil  or  climate,  but  everything 
against  the  transportation,  or  the  lack  of  it.  It  is  time  that 
Southern  Oregon  sought  shorter  and  cheaper  routes  to  markets. 

I  was  shown  a  potato  in  Rogue  River  Valley  which  weighed 
seven  pounds !  It  was  one  of  a  lot  of  twenty  whoso  aggregate 
weight  was  one  hundred  and  on<'  pounds,  and  the  crop  of  which 
they  were  a  part  matured  without  either  rain  or  irrigation,  on 
land  that  had  been  planted  to  potatoes  for  twenty-eight  consecu- 
tive years.  The  owner  expected  forty  thousand  pounds  from  one 
acre.  This  was  near  Grant's  Pass.  Another  farmer  near  Ashland 
reported  thirty  thousand  pounds  of  potatoes  to  the  acre.  None 
of  my  readers  are  likely  to  believe  this,  but  it  is  true. 

The  Oregon  and  California,  or,  as  it  is  now  called,  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad,  from  Gleiidale  to  Grant's  Pass  runs  just  inside 
the  eastern  boundary-line  of  Josephine  County,  a  large  jiortion 
of  which  is  still  unsurveyed.  It  is  here  that  it  strikes  Rogue 
or  Rascal  River,  so  named  by  the  fur-hunters  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Companj'-,  who  had,  as  well  as  later  travellers,  many  a 
skirmish  to  effect  a  crossing,  the  Indians  lying  in  wait  for  them 
at  the  ford.  The  name,  applied  to  the  natives  and  the  stream, 
became  attached  to  the  valley. 

Rogue  River  rises  in  the  Cascade  Mountains  and  courses 
southwest  and  west  to  Grant's  Pass,  where  it  runs  northwest, 
and  again  southwest,  receiving  the  Illinois  River,  which  drains 
Josephine  County,  about  twenty  miles  from  the  sea.  Rogue 
River  Valley,  embracing  all  the  country  drained  by  that  river 
and  its  numerous  tributaries,  is  an  aggregation  of  smaller  valleys, 
divided  by  rolling  hills,  the  whole  encircled  by  elevated  moun- 
tain ranges.  The  river  is  not  navigable  for  any  great  distance 
from  the  sea,  but  abounds  in  rapids  and  falls,  furnishing  abun- 
dant power  for  manufacturing  purposes.  It  is  a  stream  of  un- 
surpassed beauty,  with  water  as  blue  as  the  sky,  and  banks 
overhung  in  some  places  with  shaggy  cliffs,  and  in  others  with 
thickets  of  wild  grape-vines  and  blossoming  shrubs. 


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134 


ATLANTIS   ARiSEN. 


II-: 


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It  is  not  claimed  that  there  is  as  great  an  amount  of  rich 
alluvial  soil  in  this  section  of  Oregon  as  in  the  valleys  north  of 
it.     It  is  rather  more  elevated, 


drier. 


and  02i  the  whole  more 
adapted  to  grazing  than  to  the  growth  of  cereals.  Still,  there 
is  enough  of  rich  land  to  supply  its  own  p')pulation,  however 
dense;  and  for  fruit-growing  no  better  soil  need  be  looked  for. 
A  sort  of  compromise  between  the  dryness  of  California  and 
the  moisture  of  Northern  Oregon  and  Washington, — warmei" 
than  the  lattex*,  from  its  more  southern  latitude,  yet  not  too 
warm,  by  reason  of  its  altitude, — the  climate  of  this  valley 
renders  it  most  desirable.  Midway  between  San  Fr-incisco  Bay 
and  the  Columbia  Eiver,  what  with  its  own  fi-uitfulness,  and 
the  productions  cf  the  Wallamet  and  Sacramento  Valleys  on 
cither  hand,  within  a  few  hours  by  railway  carriage,  the  mar- 
kets of  the  Ecgue  River  Valley  can  bo  freshly  supplied  with 
both  temperate  and  semi-tropical  luxuries. 

The  grape,  peach,  apricot,  and  nectarine,  which  are  cultivated 
with  difficulty  in  the  Wallamet  Valley,  thrive  excellently  in 
this  more  high  and  southern  location.  The  creek-bottoms  pro- 
duce Indian  corn,  tobacco,  and  vegetables  equally  veil;  and 
tho,  more  ele"\ted  plateaux  produce  wheat  of  excellent  "quality 
and  large  quantity,  where  they  have  been  cultivated :  still,  as 
before  stated,  this  valley  is  commonly  understood  to  be  a  stock- 
raising,  fruit,  and  wool-growing  country, — perhaps  because  that 
kind  of  farming  is  at  once  easy  and  lucrative,  and  because  so 
good  a  market  for  fruit,  beef,  mutton,  bacon,  and  dairy  products 
has  always  existed  in  the  mines  of  this  valley  and  California. 

Rogue  River  ValJoy  during  a  period  of  about  twelve  yeai's 
was  the  scene  of  active  and  px'ofitable  placer-mining,  after  which 
for  an  equal  term  the  mines  were  abandoned  to  the  Chinese ; 
but  in  later  years  mining  has  revived,  and  seyeral  companies 
are  realizing  good  returns  from  investments  in  mining  ditches 
and  quartz  leads.  The  other  minerals  kuov/n  to  exist  in  this 
region  are  copper,  cinnabar,  lead,  iron,  coal,  granite,  limestono, 
kaolin,  and  marble.  The  latter  is  of  very  fine  quality,  white, 
exceedingly  hard,  and  translucent. 

Like  every  part  of  Oregon,  this  valley  has  it?  mineral  springs, 
its  trout-streams,  game,  and  abundance  of  pure  soft  water.  No 
local  causes  of  disease  exist  here,  and  it  is  hard  to  conceive  of  a 


WHAT   I  SAW    IX  SOUTHERN   OREGON. 


135 


country  more  naturally  beautiful  and  agreeable  than  this.  The 
forest  is  confined  to  the  mountains  and  hill-sides,  and  is  not  so 
dense  as  towards  the  Columbia. 

Rogue  River  Valley  is  divided  irto  throe  counties, — Jackson, 
Josephine,  and  Cuny.  Jackson  Couniy  was  created  January 
12,  1852,  and  Josephine  was  cut  off  from  it  in  January,  1856. 
The  name  of  the  former  does  not  refer,  as  one  might  suppose, 
to  the  deity  of  good  Democrats,  but  to  Jackson  the  discoverer 
of  the  mines  on  Jackson  Creek,  after  whom  Jacksonville,  the 
county-seat,  was  also  named. 

Jackson  was  the  owner  of  a  pack-train  which  transported 
provisions  to  the  mines,  who  being  encamped  at  this  place  made 
himself  and  the  locality  suddenly  famous  by  his  discovery.  For 
many  years  the  town  enjoyed  a  good  trade ;  but  Jacksonville 
lost  its  opportunity  when  it  permitted  the  Oregon  and  California 
Railroad  to  pass  by  on  the  other  side.  Medford,  a  few  miles  to 
the  northeast,  is  on  the  railroad,  and  takes  away  the  trade  that 
formerly  went  to  Jacksonville,  which  is  now  trying  to  recover  it 
by  building  a  branch  road  to  Medford,  which  has  about  two 
thousand  inhabitants. 

Ashland,  one  of  the  prettiest  towns  in  Oregon,  has,  on  the 
contrary,  profited  by  being  upon  the  line  of  communication  be- 
tween two  great  States,  and  is  prosperous.  It  was  settled  in 
1852  by  J.  A.  Card  well,  E.  Emery,  and  David  Hurley,  who,  being 
fro'  Ashland,  Ohio,  named  the  place  after  their  old  home.  It 
is  located  where  Stuart  Creek  comes  dancing  down  from  the 
foot-hills  of  the  Cascades,  off  ring  abundance  of  water-power, 
and  where  the  view  over'  tV,.)  whole  of  Rogue  River  Valley  is 
delightsome.  Its  manufuci  ires  are  lumber,  flour,  and  woollen 
goods. 

The  populadbn  of  Ashland  is  about  three  thousand,  and  thevo 
are  over  a  dozfen  smaller  towns  in  the  county,  the  population 
of  which  is  fifteen  thousand. 

Josephine  County,  named  after  Josephine  Rollii  ,,  daughter 
of  the  discoverer  of  gold  on  the  creek  also  named  after  her, 
differs  somewhat  from  Jackson  County  in  being  at  once  more 
broken  and  more  near  the  sea,  which  circumstances  modify  its 
climate  and  its  resources.  The  latter  have  been  chiefly  confined 
to  mining  products,  gold,  silver,  and  copper  being  found  here, 


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136 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


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but  only  gold  being  profitably  mined,  on  account  of  the  inac- 
cessibility of  this  portion  of  Oregon  previous  to  the  opening  of 
raih'oad  transportation.  For  the  same  reason,  and  owing  also 
to  the  shifting  nature  of  the  population,  agriculture  has  been 
neglected.  Yet  this  is  a  lovely  country,  of  grand  mountains 
and  quiet,  fertile  valleys  lying  between  grassy  slopes,  with  oak 
groves  like  old  orchards  dotting  their  sides,  and  open  woods  of 
the  noble  sugar-pine,  where  the  balmy  air  is  laden  with  the 
perfume  of  sweet  violets,  with  abundant  wild  fruits,  and  flowers 
in  every  sheltered  nook.  ••  It  is,"  said  a  lady  to  me,  "  a  paradist 
of  beauty,  where,  if  one  had  one's  friends,  life  would  be  wholly 
delightful."  Yet  it  is  one  of  the  most  sparsely-settled  portions 
of  the  State,  and  its  whole  taxable  property  is  valued  at  little 
over  one  million  dollars.  Kirbyville,  founded  in  1852  by  one 
Kirby,  a  prospector,  was  formerly  the  county-seat,  but  Grant's 
Pass  has  superseded  it.  Besides  this,  there  are  eight  or  ten 
other  mining-camps,  the  whole  population  of  which  is  not  more 
than  three  thousand. 

About  thirty  miles  south  of  Grant's  Pass,  in  the  Siskiyou 
Mountains,  are  the  recently  discovered  Josephine  County  Caves. 
Elijah  Davidson,  of  Williams  Creek,  was  the  discoverer,  having 
followed  a  bear  to  Its  lair  in  the  lower  of  the  two  caves.  They 
are  situated  on  the  steep  side  of  a  mountain,  and  the  last  ten 
miles  of  the  thirty  are  over  a  narrow  trail. 

The  entrance  to  either  is  about  eight  feet  wide,  and  high 
enough  to  admit  a  maii  standing  upright.  From  the  entrance 
of  the  upper  cave  the  floor  inclines  somewhat,  and  it  soon  be- 
comes necessary  to  descend  by  a  ladder  to  a  passage  averaging 
eight  feet  in  diameter  either  way,  but  having  many  projections 
and  contractions  in  its  course.  The  first  chamber  entered  has  a 
height  of  ten  feet,  and  its  walls  and  roof  are  brilliant  with 
stalactites.  The  passage  from  chamber  to  chamber  is  often 
extremely  difficult.  Pools  of  water  are  met  with  ;  and  many 
passages  remain  unexplored,  days  being  required  to  transverse 
all  that  are  seen  to  exist. 

The  lower  cave  has  no  stalactite  formations,  but  is  filled  with 
immense  rocks  piled  one  upon  auothi^r,  i-equiring  long  ladders 
to  surmount.  A  stream  of  cold,  clear  water  flows  from  it,  and 
also  a  stream  of  cold  air.  •     .  ,  ,  , 


WHAT  I  SAW   IN  SOUTHERN   OBEGON. 


137 


The  devil  is  always  credited  with  an  interest  in  remarkable 
places,  which  is  a  direct  compliment  to  his  royal  nibs ;  at  least 
80  it  appears  to  me.  The  JosepLiine  Caves  are  no  exception  to 
the  rule,  but  have  in  the  upper  one  a  Devil's  Banquet  Hall, 
seventy -five  by  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  sixtj^  feet  in  height. 
It  is  decorated  with  huge  rocks  suspend  jd  from  the  coiling  ap- 
pearing ready  to  fall  at  a  breath ;  black  cavities  yawn  in  the 
distance;  impish  shadows  haunt  unexplored  recesses ;  over  the 
floor  are  spread  rocks  great  and  small ;  and  so,  pei'haps,  after 
all,  i',  is  well  enough  to  resign  the  proprietorship  of  so  unlovely 
a  place  to  His  Satanic  Majesty ;  especially  since  there  are  bright 
and  dazzling  chambers,  and  pools  and  water-falls,  more  to  our 
taste  in  other  parts  of  this  wonder-house  of  nature. 

Curry  County,  named  after  George  L.  Curry,  who  was  gov- 
ernor of  Oregon  when  it  was  organized, — that  is,  in  1855, — is 
the  coast  division  of  the  Rogue  Hiver  Valley,  and,  having  no 
transportation,  except  by  pack-train  or  wagon,  over  the  difficult 
mountain  passes,  has,  althr^  jh  highly  productive,  made  small 
progress  in  population  and  m  volopment.  Only  a  small  porticm 
of  the  county  is  surveyed.  It8  vMluatinii  i.s  j. laced  at  ab^i  one 
million  dollars,  and  its  population  at  aot  more  than  two  thou- 
sand. Lumbering  and  salmon-pacUing  an;  its  principal  indus- 
tries.    Eilensburgh  was  made  the  county-seat  in  1858. 

Port  Orford  is  the  seaport  of  Curry  County  and  the  u  holo 
Rogue  River  Valley,  so  far  as  Oregon  is  concernod;  although 
Crescent  City  in  California  was  the  actual  port  in  use  in  early 
mining  limes,  supplies  being  carried  from  that  harbor  over  the 
mountains  to  Yreka,  and  again  over  the  Siskiyou  R  ge  into 
this  valley  by  mule-trains.  This  picturesque  feau  jf  mining 
life  has  disappeared,  when  at  the  head  of  a  procession  of  long- 
eared,  neat-footed  burden-bearers  the  "  bell-mare"  tinkled  her 
silvery  commands  to  her  followers  as  they  climbed  the  rocky 
steeps  or  wound  through  devious  mountain  defiles.  Not  in- 
frequently the  cloud  of  dust  raised  by  the  train  gave  informa- 
tion to  the  dusky  foe,  and  the  ambush  was  prepared  where  the 
trail  led  down  a  steep  grade  through  a  narrow  pass,  or  across  a 
stream  that  must  bo  forded.  There  the  unlucky  muleteers  were 
put  to  death  or  to  flight  and  the  train  confiscated. 

When   the  Pacific   Mail   Steamship   Company    used   to  run 


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ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


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steamers  to  Portland  under  their  contract  with  the  government, 
they  were  required  to  carry  the  mail  to  Gardiner  on  the  Umpqua 
River,  but,  one  of  their  steamers  being  in  danger  of  being  lost 
on  the  bar,  Captain  Tichenor  was  instructed  to  look  for  another 
port  on  the  coast  where  passengers  •  and  mail  for  Southern 
Oregon  could  bo  safely  landed.  In  June,  1851,  he  put  ashore 
at  Port  Orford  nine  pioneers  under  the  command  of  J.  M.  Kirk- 
patrick,  together  with  arms,  tools,  and  provisions,  and  proceeded 
on  his  voyage,  leaving  the  party  to  make  such  improvements  as 
they  could. 

The  Indians  gathered  near  in  alarming  numbers,  and  the 
men  fortified  themselves  on  a  high  rock  that  sloped  to  the  sea, 
having  dragged  up  to  their  fort  a  four-pound  cannon.  On 
the  second  day  a  war-dance  was  held  by  the  natives  whose 
•'hej,th"  was  being  thus  invaded.  After  working  themselves 
up  to  a  proper  degree  of  courage  the  warriors  advanced  on  the 
work3,  the  foremost  one  endeavoring  to  wrest  a  gun  from  the 
hands  of  Kirkpatrick,  who  instead  of  giving  up  his  arms  seized 
a  firebrand  and  touched  off  the  cannon,  the  charge  doing  execu- 
tion upca  six  of  the  assailants.  The  Indians  sent  a  shower  of 
arrows  among  the  white  men,  wounding  four  of  the  nine.  The 
skirmish  lasted  about  fifteen  minutes,  during  which  six  more 
Indians  were  killed,  when  they  retreated.  The  party  was  then 
unable  to  perform  the  most  important  part  of  their  duty,  which 
was  to  explore  a  road  to  the  interior,  and  after  five  days,  the 
enemy  appearing  to  be  preparing  for  another  attack,  which  they 
were  not  in  a  condition  to  resist,  they  watched  for  an  opportu- 
nity and  took  to  flight  under  cover  ol'  the  night  and  the  forest. 
On  the  Coquille  River,  which,  with  ( 'oos  River,  they  discovered, 
they  were  near  being  confronted  by  a  village  of  Indians,  but 
avoided  them,  and  were  in  hiding  two  days,  with  only  some 
berries  for  food.  Arrived  at  the  Co  an  River,  the  natives 
assisted  them  to  cross,  and  on  the  eighth  day  they  reached  the 
settlements  on  the  Umpqua. 

The  "Seagull"  on  her  next  trip  to  Portland  called  at  Fort 
Oi'ford  and  landed  forty  men,  who,  finding  the  place  deserced, 
and  evidences  of  a  struggle  manifest,  believed  the  first  party  to 
be  all  killed,  and  so  reported.  But  the  steamer  on  the  return 
voyage  brought  thirty  recruits  from  Portland,  headed  by  one 


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WHAT   I  SAW  IN  SOUTHEKN  OREGON. 


139 


T' Vault,  a  man  famous  among  the  pioneers  of  Oregon.  This 
T' Vault  headed  a  company  to  explore  a  road  into  the  Eogue 
Biver  settlements  east  of  the  mountains,  and  in  August  they  set 
out ;  but,  becoming  discouraged  by  ihe  hardships  of  the  trip,  all 
but  nine  of  the  company  returned  to  Port  Orford.  The  remain- 
der kept  on,  bi!  t  finally  became  lost  and  entangled  in  the  tropical 
jungles  of  the  Joast  Eange,  coming  at  last  to  the  Coquille,  which 
one  of  the  party,  who  had  been  in  the  first  flight  to  the  Umpqua, 
recognized.  This  showed  to  them  that  they  were  nearing  the 
coast  instead  of  the  valley,  and  determined  them  to  keep  on  to 
the  Umpqua  settlemeats.  While  crossing  the  Coquille  they  were 
attacked,  and  again  four  of  the  nine  were  killed.  The  remain- 
ing five,  including  T'Vault,  reached  Umpqua  after  six  days  of 
wandering,  subsisting  on  berries  in  the  woods  and  mussels  on 
the  coast.  All  were  more  or  less  wounded.  One  Hedden,  who 
had  been  in  the  first  fight,  escaped  with  slight  injury.  In  run- 
ning from  the  furious  attack  of  the  Indians  the  party  became 
separate'^  *  young  man  named  Williams,  whom  we  met  at 
AshlaT\d,  xiile  being  pursued  was  shot  through  by  an  arrow 
which  was  broken  off  in  his  abdomen,  where  it  remained  four 
years  before  it  came  out,  without  surgery.  The  history  of 
Southern  Oi'egon  is  a  nearly  endless  chronicle  of  these  personal 
conflicts  with  the  native  nobilitv  of  the  country. 

I  confess  in  this  public  manuti-  that  I  am  not  a  wori*hipper  of 
the  Indian,  and  I  declare  that,  even  admitting  one  Alessandro  to 
be  possible  (which  he  is  not),  he  would  be  one  adorable  character 
among  a  thousand  devils  of  his  race.  Yet  there  are  examples  of 
a  rude  courage,  partaking  of  the  nature  of  frantic  bravery,  which 
one  must  admire.  One  of  these  savage  heroes  was  Rogue  R'ver 
John,  a  chief  of  that  tribe.  After  the  conquest  of  the  Indians, 
and  their  confinement  on  a  reservation  in  Northern  Oregon,  he 
was  banished  to  Alcatraz  Island,  in  San  Francisco  Bay,  for 
stirring  up  rebellion  among  his  people.  On  the  way  to  San 
Francisco,  when  the  steamship  was  off  Crescent  City,  he,  with 
his  son,  attempted  to  take  the  ship,  with  the  intention  of  swim- 
ming ashore  and  regaining  their  former  homes.  One  or  two 
persons  were  wounded  in  the  affray,  but  the  chief's  son  suffered 
most,  receiving  a  wound  in  the  struggle  which  caused  the  loss 
of  a  leg.    They  were  put  in  irons  and  were  captives  at  Alcatraz 


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140 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


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for  some  time,  but  finally  were  permitted  to  return  to  the  reserva- 
tion, where  the  chief  died  a  few  years  later. 

Port  Orford  has  been  selected  for  a  harbor  of  refuge  for  this 
part  of  the  coast,  and  an  appropriation  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars  has  been  secured  to  commence  the  work.  Curry 
County  is  well  supplied  with  game  and  fish.  Its  splendid  cedar 
forests  are  worth  more  than  gold-mines  to  whomsever  will  con- 
vert them  into  lumbei*.  Cedars  from  three  to  eight  feet  in  diam- 
eter and  with  not  a  limb  on  them  for  a  hundred  feet  grow  here. 
Here  sea-fogs  keep  vegetation  forever  green,  and  miasmatic 
diseases  are  unknown.  The  residents  of  the  valleys  would  like 
to  live  upon  the  coast,  were  it  not  for  the  mountains  which 
divide  it  from  their  fertile  prairies.  Yet  it  is  by  these  mountains 
the  climate  is  rendered  what  it  is,  —partially  confining  the  fogs 
and  winds  to  the  coast,  making  this  section  cool  and  moist, 
and  the  interior  warm  and  dry. 

EUensburgh,  situated  at  the  mouth  of  Rogue  River,  is  famous 
for  stirring  scenes  in  the  Indian  war  of  1855-56.  It  was  at  the 
mouth  of  Rogue  River  that  a  camp  of  volunteers,  a  company  of 
settlers,  and  the  Indian  agent,  Ben.  Wright,  were  surprised  and 
massacred.  Wright  was  killed,  and  his  heart  cut  out  and  eaten 
by  his  Indian  wife  and  her  people.  The  reason  given  by  this 
unchristianized  Ramona  for  this  repast  was  that  her  husband 
had  a  big  (good  and  brave)  heart,  and  that  (on  the  accepted 
principle  that  a  part  helps  a  part,  as  we  say  when  we  eat  calves' 
brains),  herself  and  tribe  would  be  made  more  courageous  by  it. 

There  are  various  myths  extant  about  this  same  Ben.  Wright. 
B}'  some  he  is  represented  as  an  illitei'ate,  bad  man,  with  a 
record  shocking  to  civilized  sensibilities.  It  is  said  he  deliber- 
ately poisoned  a  large  number  of  Pit  Rivor  and  Modoc  Indians 
whom  he  had  invited  to  a  council  at  Modoc  or  Tule  Lake.  By 
others  he  is  spoken  of  as  a  sort  of  Spanish  caballero,  riding  a 
glossy  black  horse,  wearing  the  fringed  buckskin  suit,  red  sash, 
broad-brimmed  hat,  and  jingling  spurs  of  the  gente  de  razon  of 
California.  It  is  said  he  had  handsome  features,  fine  dark  eyes, 
and  wore  his  black  hair  long.  Investigation  seems  to  prove 
that  he  was  a  Philadelphian  b}^  birth,  of  a  good  familj',  who 
was  drawn  to  the  Pacific  coast  bj'  the  gold-mines,  who  dug  gold 
on  the  Klamath  River  and  about  Jacksonville.     In  1852  there 


WHAT  I  SAW   IN  SOUTHERN  OREGON. 


141 


was  a  great  slaughter  of  immigrants  by  the  Indians  about  Tule 
Lalce,  and,  a  company  being  raised  to  go  to  the  assistance  of  a 
beleaguered  train  the  handsome  and  popular  Philadelphian  was 
chosen  captain.  The  immigrants  were  relieved,  and  the  volun- 
teers under  Wright  patrolled  the  dangerous  part  of  the  road 
for  sevci'al  weeks  until  all  had  passed.  Manj'  harrowing  inci- 
dents were  connected  with  the  murder  and  captivity  of  women, 
which  stirred  the  manly  blood  of  Wright  and  his  comrades, 
and  doubtless  the  quality  of  their  mercy  would  have  been 
rather  strained  had  it  been  appealed  to.  But  it  was  not.  The 
Modocs  had  laid  a  trap  to  catch  the  volunteers  and  prevent 
their  getting  out  of  the  country,  which  being  discovered,  Wright 
turned  the  tables  on  his  would-be  slayers,  and  prevented  their 
getting  back  to  their  fastnesses  in  the  Lava  Beds. 

But  this  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  his  death  a  few  years 
later.  The  government  had  appointed  him  to  act  as  its  agent 
with  the  Chetcoe  and  other  coast  tribes,  and  be  was  doing  all 
any  agent  could  do  for  them  when  they  killed  him.  The  settlers 
who  escaped  the  massacre  at  the  mouth  of  Rogue  River  took 
refuge  in  a  blockhouse  erected  a  short  time  before,  except  a 
fugitive  who  escaped  to  Port  Orford,  where  a  corporal's  guard 
of  troops  were  stationed,  whom  the  Port  Orford  people  would 
not  permit  to  leave  had  they  so  wished.  Word  htid  to  be  sent 
to  San  Francisco,  where  troops  were  arriving  on  their  way 
to  protect  the  interior  of  Rogue  River  Valley.  In  the  month 
which  intervened  between  the  commencement  of  the  siege  of 
the  block-house  and  the  arrival  of  the  troops,  great  privation 
and  suffering  were  endured,  and  several  lives  were  lost  in 
making  sorties  to  procure  potatoes  fi'om  a  field,  or  milk  from  a 
cow  for  the  starving  children. 

In  the  mean  time  and  before  the  army  reached  Crescent 
City,  a  part  of  the  few  inhabitants  of  that  place,  commiser- 
ating the  condition  of  the  Rogue  River  men,  if  living,  deter- 
mined to  discover  their  needs,  and  reinforce  them,  if  possible. 
They  proceeded  up  the  coast  as  far  as  Pistol  River,  whore  they 
were  attacked  by  the  Pistol  Indians  and  forced  to  defend  them- 
selves in  a  hastily-constructed  log-pen,  where  Colonel  Buchanan 
found  them  when  he  came  marching  up  the  same  trail,  and 
soundly  berated   them   for   meddling  in   military  matters,  of 


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142 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


which  they  know  nothing!  It  is  not  singular,  everything  con- 
sidered, that  Indian  philanthropists  are  so  rare  among  the 
border  people. 

The  county  of  Coos,  on  the  coast,  is  not  a  part  of  either  the 
Umpqua  or  the  Rogue  River  Valleys.  It  is  a  basin  drained 
by  the  C'oquille  and  Coos  Rivers,  which  have  many  tributaries, 
and  when  well  developed  will  prove  to  be  one  of  the  wealthiest 
divisions  of  Oregon.  Coos  is  not  an  Indian  name,  the  natives 
calling  their  river  Cowes.  I  have  already  spoken  of  the  dis- 
covery of  this  region  by  the  fugitives  from  Port  Orford.  Cape 
Arago,  at  the  entrance  to  the  bay  at  the  mouth  of  Coos  River, 
was  named  by  Spanish  navigators,  who  probably  also  saw  the 
Coquillc,  for  they  described  it  felicitously,  comparing  it  to  the 
rivers  of  Aragon  for  beauty,  and  also  for  similarity  of  the  trees 
and  shrubs  growing  upon  its  banks. 

Soon  after  the  Port  Orford  affair,  in  1852,  a  small  schooner, 
bound  to  the  Umpqua  River,  entered  Coos  Bay  by  mistake,  and 
remained  there  for  several  weeks,  looking  for  the  settlements, 
and  in  great  fear  of  the  Indians.  Their  plight  was  discovered 
by  the  Umpqua  Indians,  who  informed  the  inhabitants  of  Gar- 
diner, when  they  sent  a  pilot  to  bring  the  voyagers  to  their 
intended  haven. 

In  1853,  P.  B.  Marple,  of  Jackson  County,  explored  the  Co- 
quille  Valley,  and  organized  a  company  of  forty  men  to  settle 
on  Coos  Bay.  Gold-mining  on  the  coast  began  soon  after  at 
Randolph,  near  the  mouth  of  Coquille,  and  a  seaport  town  grew 
up  rapidly  on  Coos  Bay,  called  Empire  City,  which  became  the 
seat  of  government  of  Coos  County,  organized  in  December, 
1853,  and  is  the  port  of  entry  for  the  district  of  Southern 
Oregon.  It  has  a  small  population,  while  Marshfield,  four  miles 
farther  up  the  bay,  and  founded  a  little  later,  by  J.  C.  Tolman, 
is  a  place  of  considerable  importance,  with  a  thriving  trade. 
Between  the  two  is  the  lumbering  establishment  of  North  Bend  ; 
and  on  the  river,  above  Marshfield,  are  the  towns  of  Coos  City, 
Utter  City,  Coaledo,  Sumner,  and  Fairview. 

Coal  was  veiy  early  discovered  on  Coos  Bay,  and  has  been 
worked  continuously  for  many  years,  employing  a  line  of  steam- 
vessels  to  carry  it  to  San  Francisco.  The  quality  of  some  late 
discoveries  in  coal  is  claimed  by  experts  to  be  of  a  very  high 


WHAT   1   SAW    IN  SOUTHERN   OREOON. 


143 


order.  Otio  analysis  gives  :  fixed  carbon,  47.23;  volatile  matter, 
42.17;  water,  2.30;  ash,  8.25;  sulphur,  .60.  Its  coking  capao- 
ity  is  54.45.  Others  were  nearly  as  good,  and  the  quantity  is 
practically  inexhaustible. 

Coal-mining  is  the  most  important  industry  of  tliis  region, 
lumbering  the  second,  and  ship-building  the  third,  the  ship- 
yard at  North  Bend  being  the  largest  in  the  State.  Many  fine 
vessels,  finished  inside  with  the  beautiful  cabinet-woods  of  this 
section  of  Southern  Oregon,  have  been  launched  from  this  yard, 
and  have  assisted  to  build  up  the  fortunes  of  their  owners  and 
the  wealth  of  the  country. 

Farming  has  not  beeij  much  followed  in  Coos  County,  its 
market  being  chiefly  supplied  from  California.  This  condition 
of  agriculture  arises  from  two  causes, — namely,  the  density  of 
the  forest  about  the  bay,  requiring  great  labor  and  expense  to 
remove  it  and  prepare  the  ground,  and  the  movable  character 
of  the  people  employed  by  corporations,  the  majority  of  the  pop- 
ulation being  of  this  and  the  morchunt  class.  Yet  five  acres 
of  this  rich,  loamy  soil,  if  farmed  to  vegetables  and  smiiil  fruits, 
would  support  a  family  in  comfort.  The  mild,  moist  climate, 
furnishing  feed  all  the  year  round,  and  the  amplitude  of  pastur- 
age offered  by  unoccupied  lands  should  make  this  a  superior 
dairy  country.  Dairying  is  followed  to  some  extent,  but  not  as 
it  should  be.  Fruit  does  well  in  this  region,  and  fruit,  both  green 
and  dried,  is  one  of  the  exports  from  Coos  Bay. 

The  entrance  to  this  harbor  has  not  been  regarded  as  favoi-- 
able  to  commerce,  on  account  of  the  shifting  nature  of  the  sands 
on  the  bar,  and  the  insufficient  depth  of  water.  Accordingly, 
Congress  was  petitioned  for  aid  in  removing  the  obstructions  to 
trade,  the  cost  of  the  work  required  being  estimated  at  about 
two  and  a  half  millions,  of  which  two  hundred  and  thirteen  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  fifty-six  dollars  have  been  appropriated, 
and  one  hundred  and  ninety-seven  thousand  four  hundred  and 
sixty-five  dollars  and  eighty-one  cents  expended.  This  amount 
has  been  applied  to  the  construction  of  a  jetty,  which,  although 
completed  for  a  distance  of  only  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty- 
one  feet,  has  sensibly  improved  the  bar,  on  which  water  enough  is 
found  for  vessels  drawing  over  fifteen  feet.  The  work  planned, 
it  is  expected,  will  make  a  good  and  permanent  channel. 


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144 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


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The  average  tonnage  of  vessels  entering  Coos  Buy  lias  been 
300  tons.  Dnring  the  year  ending  June  HO,  18!)0,  tiie  arrivals 
wore  354;  the  net  tonnage  of  whieii  was  89,188,  and  tiie  gross 
tonnage  117,720.  The  river  and  bay  steamers  are  twelve  in 
number,  and  their  gross  tonnage  740.  Five  tugs  are  employed, 
with  a  tonnage  of  620,  gross.  The  total  exports  of  Coos  Bay 
for  the  year  ending  June  30  amounted  to  221,329.1  tons,  value 
81,992,903;  and  the  imports  to  18,000  tons,  value  $1,175,600; 
leaving  a  balance  in  favor  of  the  port  of  $817,303. 

Coos  Bay  has  hitherto  been  reached  only  by  small  seagoing 
vessels,  or  by  mountain  roads,  with  which  the  storms  of  winter 
dealt  severely,  leaving  them  unfit  for  travel  the  greater  part  of 
the  year.  The  Scotlsburg  road  from  Drain's  was  the  one 
usually  taken.  At  the  former  ])lace  the  stage  was  abandoned 
for  a  small  steamer  to  Gardiner,  or  to  the  mouth  of  the  river 
(I  took  the  mail-carriei"'s  small  boat  from  Gardiner  to  the  coast), 
whence  a  beach-wagon  conveyed  passengers  twenty  miles  to 
the  north  side  of  Coos  Bay,  where  they  wore  met  by  a  steamer 
and  taken  across  to  Empire  City.  The  beach  ride  is  wearisome, 
with  the  perpetual  roll  of  the  liroad-tire  wheels  over  the  un- 
elastic  wet  sand,  and  the  constant  view  of  a  restless  waste  of 
water  on  one  hand,  with  dry,  drifting  sand  between  us  and  the 
mountains  on  the  other,  varied  only  with  patches  of  marsh  and 
groups  of  scraggy  pines  at  intervals. 

All  this  is  soon  to  be  changed.  Coos  Bay  is  to  be  reached  by 
rail  from  Drain's;  and  as  lovely  and  genial  a  spot  of  earth  as 
one  could  desire  is  to  be  made  easily  accessible.  The  prodigality 
with  which  nature  has  adorned  the  hill-sides  hereabouts  with 
the  elegant  rhododendron,  the  blue  spirea,  nutmeg,  myrtle,  and 
other  trees  and  shrubs  famed  in  the  poetry  of  the  Adriatic,  was 
a  constant  joy  to  me  while  I  remained  here.  The  pleasure 
derived  from  it  was  like  that  of  coming  upon  a  volume  of  the 
odes  of  Callimachus  or  a  painting  by  a  master  in  an  out-of-the- 
way  place. 

One  of  the  immetliate  results  of  the  changed  prospects  of 
Coos  Bay  is  the  founding  of  the  town  of  Glasgow,  on  a  fine  site 
commanding  a  view  of  the  bay  and  of  the  bar  at  its  mouth. 
A  wharf  two  thousand  feet  long  has  been  constructed,  and  ex 
tends  over  a  bed  of  Eastern  oysters  which  were  planted  there 


WHAT  r  sA^r  in  southern  ouEfiox. 


145 


years  ngo,  and  almost  for<rotten,  but  wliich  aro  now  of  i^ood  size. 
Mills  and  oihor  imjirovcmcnts  aro  i^oiiig  up  at  this  place. 

The  Coquiile  Valley  consist.^  of  tracts  of  fertile  land  on  the 
main  river  and  its  branches,  aggregating  a  hundred  inilos  in 
length  by  one  to  three  in  width.  It'*  population  is  more  agri- 
cultural than  that  on  Coos  Hay,  and  has  made  greater  improve- 
ments in  farms.  Coquiile  City  is  situated  on  a  bend  of  the 
river  about  twelve  miles  from  the  ocean,  and  is  a  pretty  town 
of  about  one  thousand  inhabitant".  Without  having  a  harbor 
of  much  coiisoquenee,  Coquiile  has  maintaine^l  for  many  years 
a  coasting  trade  in  vessels  drawing  from  seven  to  nine  feet. 
.Steamers  run  from  Bandon,  at  the  mouth  of  the  I'iver,  to  Co- 
quiile City,  a  distance  of  twenty-three  miles,  and  retnrn,  daily. 
There  are  about  ti  dozen  schooners  in  the  coasting  trade,  and 
four  river  boats  in  the  trade  of  the  Coquiile.  The  exports  are 
chiefly  of  white-cedai-  lumber,  for  which  this  region  is  famed. 
The  import  of  general  merchandise  last  year  was  three  thousand 
Ave  hundred  tons. 

The  government  has  made  several  appropriations  for  the 
improvement  of  Coquiile  River  anti  bar,  by  means  of  jetties  at 
the  entrance,  and  clearing  the  river  of  impediments  to  navi- 
gation in  the  form  of  rocks  and  snags.  A  depth  of  ten  feet  at 
low  water  has  been  obtained  in  the  channel,  and  a  greater  depth 
will  yet  be  reached.  To  secure  this  result  the  |>eo[ile  have 
largely  contributed,  both  in  money  and  labor. 

Railroad  connection  with  Roseburg  is  now  promised,  and  lands 
all  along  the  line,  where  formerly  a  single  nearl}*  impassable 
mud  road  gave  outlet  to  the  interior,  are  being  rapidly  taken 
up.  In  a  fow  years  this  valley  will  be  known  as  one  of  the 
choicest  of  man}'  choice  sections  of  Southern  Oregon.  Thei'e 
aro  now  about  twenty  settlements  in  the  whole  Coos  Bay 
region. 

The  scenery  along  the  route  from  Coquiile  to  Roseburg  pos- 
sesses all  the  charms  peculiar  to  the  Coast  Mountains,  and  En- 
chanted Prairie,  the  name  of  one  of  the  valleys  on  the  east  side 
of  the  range,  convej'S  no  sense  of  bombast  to  the  beholder. 
The  river  cuts  deeply  into  the  mountains  from  its  source  in 
beautiful  Camas  Vallej-,  the  road  approaching  the  edge  of  per- 


pendicular cliffs  of  awe-inspiring  height. 

10 


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146 


ATL-^NTI«   ARISEN. 


Eosebui'g  I'oacI  soon  emerges  into  the  ITnijiqua  Valley,  the  dis- 
tance by  this  route  from  Coos  Bay  being  about  forty  miiea. 

What  further  remains  to  be  said  of  Southern  Oregon  will  be 
found  under  the  specific  heads  of  geology,  mineralogy,  mining, 
botany,  etc. 


CHAPTEE    XI. 


I 


ABuUT   OREGON  S    INLAND    EMPIRE. 

The  whole  extent  of  countr\',  Ijing  east  of  the  Cas  "ades  in 
Oregon,  consists  of  immense  plateaux,  crossed  from  the  nortii- 
east  to  the  southwest  by  the  Blue  Mountains,  from  which  numer- 
ous spurs  put  out  in  various  directions.  The  best  land  In  East 
Oregor\  lies  along  near  the  base  of  this  transverse  chain  of  moun- 
tains, and  in  the  valleys  of  the  streams  flowing  from  it  on  either 
side,  the  upper  portion  of  these  valleys  being  invariably'  the 
best.  All  the  timber  of  the  country — fir,  pine,  cedar,  spruce, 
and  larch — grows  on  the  high  mountain  ridges,  except  the  mere 
fringes  of  cotton-wood  'Mid  willow  which  border  the  streams. 
'1  ho  Blue  Mountains  constitute  a  wall  between  tb  '  Columbia 
River  Basin,  to  the  north,  and  the  Klamath  Basin  'o  the  80U*h ; 
hence  all  the  rivers  of  East  Oregon  head  in  these  mountains, 
and  flow  into  thd  Columbia  and  Snuiic  Ei-  ers,  only  excepting 
those  in  the  Klamath  Basin,  which  run  south  and  empty 
into  marshy  lakes  or  sinks.  Along  these  rivers  and  .about  the 
lalres  there  are  large  tracts  of  t.xcc!leni  land  suitable  for  farm- 
ing. Subtracting  from  the  whole  an.  a  of  East  Oregon  what  may 
be  called  the  valley  lands,  the  remainder  is  high,  rolling  prairie, 
wi.  1  a  considerable  portion  of  waste,  volcanic  country  in  the 
central  a  d  western  divisions.  The  country  may  be  considered 
well  wat'M'Ci'  tiiroughout,  as  the  straams  are  numerous,  and 
water  is  to  be  found  by  stock  at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  Owing, 
however,  to  the  elevation  of  the  plains  above  the  beds  of  the 
principal  streams,  irrigation  canr.ot  be  efF(  ctod  over  a  large 
poi'tion  of  it  unless  by  artesian  wells  or  by  conducting  water 
from  the  mountains.  Such  sxrc  the  general  features  of  that  por- 
tion of  Oregon  lying  east  of  the  Cascade  Mountains. 


T 


ABOUT  Oregon's  inland  EMrinE. 


147 


Attention  was  first  cirawn  to  the  fertility  of  East  Oregon  by  the. 
population  that  rushed  to  the  mines  in  1861  and  the  three  years 
immediately  following.  It  became  necessary  to  provide  for  the 
consumption  of  a  large  class  of  persons  who  dealt  only  in  gold. 
The  hif^h  prices  they  paid,  and  were  Avilling  to  ijiiy,  for  the 
necessary  articles  of  subsistence,  stimulated  oliiers  to  attempt 
the  raining  of  ^jrain  and  vegetables.  The  success  which  at- 
tended their  efforts  soon  led  to  the  taking  up  a. id  cultivating  of 
all  the  valley  lands  in  the  neighborhood  of  mines,  and  finally 
to  expcfiments  with  grain-crops  on  the  uplands,  where  also  the 
farmers  met  with  unexpected  success.  The  nature  of  the  soils  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Columbia  is  light,  ashen,  and  often  strongly 
alkaline  on  the  plains,  sandy  and  clay-loam  at  the  base  of  the 
mountams,  and  richly  alluvial  in  the  bottoms,  where  it  is  often, 
too,  mixed  with  alkali.  It  is  discovered  that  on  the  highest 
uplands  and  tops  of  ridges  there  is  a  mixture  of  clay  with 
loam,  which  accounts  for  the  manner  in  which  wheat  crops 
endure  the  natural  dryness  of  the  climate  in  the  growing  season. 

It  would  be  diffici'.lt  to  generalize  about  East  Oregon.  The 
tourist  who  enten.  tbo  State  by  the  usually  travelled  routes 
would  almost  certainly  receive  a  bad  impression,  because  the 
longer  railroad  lines,  in  order  to  shorten  their  routes,  avoid  the 
better  sections  of  the  country  and  run  through  the  worse  ones. 
It  is  only  by  taking  the  branch  lines,  constructed  later,  that  the 
traveller  learns  to  reverse  his  first  jiidgment  in  regard  to  this 
portion  of  the  State.  It  might  be  added,  it  is  only  by  actual 
experiment  that  an  Eastern  farmer  acquires  confidence  in  the 
possibilities  of  a  country  so  different  in  appearance  from  any 
Avith  which  he  is  acqnainted. 

Ali  along  the  Columbia,  from  The  Dalles  to  the  boundary  be- 
tween Oregon  and  Washington,  there  is  a  strip  of  sandy  land, 
from  five  to  ten  miles  in  width,  which  is  not  cultivable, — at  least, 
not  without  an  abund;;nce  of  water, — and  which  is  a  torment 
to  the  traveller  and  a  oerious  trial  to  the  railroad  company, 
whose  track  it  covers  Avith  drifts  in  many  places. 

For  convenience  the  country  may  h^  said  to  be  divided  into 
sandy  land,  agricultural  land,  and  mountain  land,  and  still  there 
remains  the  necessity  of  more  special  description,  and  to  include 
desert  land.     The  mountainous  portions  furnish  timber — pine, 


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148 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


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fir,  spruce,  oedar,  tamarack,  and  junipei' — for  lumber  and  fuel, 
and  ill  summer  pasturage  for  cattle  and  sheep.  There  are  prub- 
al)ly  half  a  million  sheep  in  the  Blue  Mountains  every  year, 
from  June  to  November.  There  are  the  saw-mills  which  man- 
ufacture lumber,  which,  with  shingles,  fencing,  and  fire-wood,  is 
shipped  by  railroad  or  hauled  by  teams  to  the  prairies.  Unlike 
the  mountains  of  West  Oregon,  these  are  traversable  almost 
any  whei-e,  besides  affording  game,  fish,  and  pure,  ice-cold  water, 
features  which  make  them  a  pletisant  retreat  in  summer  fron» 
the  heat  of  the  open  country. 

The  so-called  desert  is  that  high,  rocky  portion  lying  along 
the  base  of  the  Blue  Mountains  in  the  central  part  of  East 
Oregon,  covered  with  sage,  and  blotched  with  frequent  dark 
piles  of  basalt,  where  for  miles  and  miles  no  water  is  found. 
Yet  it  is  a  fal-t  that  wherever  the  artemisia  grows  rankly  other 
vegetation  will  flourish  if  water  be  applied.  Water  is  the  one 
^...•ft  v  int  of  the  "deserts"  of  the  Northwest.  The  scenery 
of  thit»  rugged  portion  of  the  State  is  peculiar.  Beginning  with 
this  "  scabby" — a  new  word  for  basaltic  out-croppings — land, 
the  country  rises  into  ridges  of  loosely  piled  rock,  gray  with 
lichens,  and  crowned  with  stunted  junipers.  Now  and  then 
occurs  a  lake  of  alkaline  waters,  but  more  frequently  the  thirsty 
traveller  is  deceived  by  the  mirage,  which  is  a  feature  of  this 
high  and  dry  atmosphere,  into  thinking  ho  sees  in  the  distance 
what  nature  calls  out  for,  and  hastens  towards  it  only  to  be  dis- 
appointed. Beyond  all  is  the  mountain  mass,  in  which  rise  the 
rivers  flowing  north  througli  tlio  caRons  of  such  a  depth  as  to 
preclude  the  possibility  of  diverting  them  to  the  uses  of  culti- 
vation. Frost,  too,  comes  early  in  this  elevated  region,  which 
the  Creator  has  reserved  to  keep  pure  the  air  've  breathe  and 
the  thoughts  we  think. 

Everywhere  one  goes  in  this  middle  land,  between  the 
Cascade  and  the  Blue  Ranges,  tlie  impression  ie  received  of 
newness, — I  do  not  mean  of  men's  work,  but  of  God's  work. 
The  country  is  not  finished.  The  soil  is  still  being  formed  upon 
the  bed-rock  of  the  Columbia  Basin,  which  in  some  places  is 
yet  uncovered.  In  other  localities  it  is  from  five  to  twenty 
feet  deep.  Wherever  it  has  such  depth  it  is  remarkably  pro- 
ductive, for  there  is  no  better  soil  than  that  formed  by  the  dis- 


m 


ABOUT   OREGON'S   INLAND    EMPIRE. 


149 


integration  of  tho  basalt  and  refinement  of  the  other  volcanic 
matter  poured  out  over  this  country  in  the  distant  ages.  One 
may  still  discover  evidences  that  it  was  at  one  time  a  sea-bed  ; 
that  later  it  was  ground  by  monstrous  icebergs;  and  that  later 
still  it  was  overflowed  with  lava.  Here  stalked  the  mammoth 
beside  lakes  now  dried  up,  whose  sands  yet  sepulchre  his  bones, 
with  those  of  other  extinct  animals.  It  is  a  country  full  of  won- 
ders, which  sliould  never  be  heedlessly  passed  over,  but  should 
be  the  favorite  study-ground  of  science. 

East  Oregon  contains  fifty-eight  thousand  square  miles,  and 
id  divided  into  counties,  fourteen  in  number,  which  often  com- 
prise the  valley  of  a  river.  Union  County,  for  instance,  occupies 
the  ^-'rand  Rond  Valley,  a  circular  grassy  plan,  long  celebrated 
for  its  beauty  and  fertility.  Here,  in  the  eari\  times  of  overland 
immigration  by  wagons,  the  traveller  found  food  for  cattle  and 
rest  for  himself  in  these  delightful  meadows,  after  the  long,  ex- 
hausting march  over  the  hot,  sterile  sands  of  Snake  River.  This 
valley  is  thirty  miles  in  diameter,  well  watered,  and  very  pro- 
ductive in  all  the  cereals,  fruits,  and  vegetables  of  the  temperate? 
zone.  A  considerable  amount  of  the  land  is  subject  to  overflow, 
which  makes  it  greatly  esteemed  as  grass-producing.  Timber  is 
also  conveniently  near  on  the  encircling  mountains,  where  mills 
are  working  up  the  fir,  pine,  spruce,  and  tamarack  forest  into 
lumber. 

Union  City,  the  county-seat,  was  settled  in  18(12  during  the 
mining  excitement  in  East  Oregon  and  Idaho,  but  is  not  now  as 
large  as  it  was  at  that  period.  La  Grande  is  the  principal  town, 
witli  two  thousand  inhabitants.  It  also  dates  back  to  the  six- 
ties: but  when  the  O.  R.  and  N.  Railroad  approached  to  within 
a  mile  without  touching  it,  the  sleepy  old  town  arose  and  shook 
itself,  and  removed  its  business  houses  to  the  line  of  the  railroad, 
where  its  growth  final'.y  reunited  it  to  the  older  portion.  There 
are  a  dozen  saw-mills  within  a  few  miles  of  the  town,  the  lumbei- 
being  floated  down  by  meau'i  of  flumes  to  the  shipping  ]K)iiits. 
this  method  being  found  to  be  more  economical  and  safer  than 
driving  down  the  logs  to  be  sawed  here,  although  in  some  local- 
ities this  can  be  done.  A  part  of  the  car-shops  of  the  O.  R. 
and  N.  Company  have  been  removed  from  The  Dalles  to  l^a 
Grande.     A  sash-  and  door-factory,  a  creamery,  two  brick-kilns, 


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ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


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a  brewery,  aud  a  grain-elevator  are  among  the  industrial  re- 
sources of  the  place.  There  were  shipped  from  this  point  in 
1888  one  thousand  car-loadsof  iumber  and  railroad  supplies,  and 
one  thousand  car-loads  of  live  stock.  The  minora!  region  of 
Baker  County  is  supplied  chiefly  from  this  direction. 

La  Grande  has  a  bank,  with  a  capital  of  sixty  thousand  dol- 
lars and  deposits  averaging  seventy-five  thousand  dollars.  It 
has  water- works,  and  an  eloctric-light  plant.  The  public  schools 
are  good,  and  a  large  brick  college  building  is  standing  idle  for 
want  of  an  endowment, — the  Blue  Mountain  University, — but 
the  Methodists  are  about  assuming  charge.  The  Union  Pacific 
has  com|jleled  .■'  branch  from  La  Grande  to  Elgin,  twenty- two 
miles  northea.st  of  here.     It  is  to  be  extended  to  Wallowa. 

Wallowa  County  is  comprised  in  the  Wallowa  Valley,  this 
river  being  a  branch  of  tlio  Grand  Hond  iliver,  which  bounds 
the  county  on  the  northwest,  and  having  several  branches  of 
its  own,  with  small  fertile  valleys.  This  region  is  known  as  the 
Tyrol  of  the  i!»J oil h west,  its  average  elevation  being  two  thou- 
sand five  hundi'ed  feet,  and  some  of  its  lesser  plateaux  reaching 
four  thousand.  This  is  the  valley  for  the  possession  of  which 
Chief  Joseph  went  upon  the  war-j>ath  in  1877.  Its  principal 
town  and  county-scat  is  named  Joseph,  in  honor  of  this  chief 
It  has  already  put  on  civilization,  and  is  prepared,  with  news- 
paper, hotels,  and  churches,  to  utilize  its  resources,  agricultural 
and  mineral,  and  its  abundance  of  water-power. 

Umatilla  is  another  county  contaiiied  in  the  valley  of  that 
name.  The  reservation  of  the  Cayuse,  Walla  Walla,  aud 
Umatilla  Indians  occupies  a  considerable  portion  of  this  county, 
probably  one-third,  which  altogether  has  an  area  of  about  six 
thousand  square  miles.  Of  the  remaining  two-thirds,  about 
half  is  reckoned  as  agricultural  land,  and  the  balance  as  grazing 
land  of  the  very  best  qualit}-.  Water  is  plenty  and  excellent; 
but  timber,  as  already  indicated,  is  found  only  on  the  mountains. 
It  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Blue  Mountains,  in  which  the 
Walla  Walla  and  Umatilla  Rivers  have  their  sources.  The  wheat 
output  of  this  county  in  some  }ears  is  as  ntuch  as  sixty  thou- 
sand tons. 

Pendleton,  the  county-town,  on  the  river,  and  on  the  O.  R. 
and  N.  Railway,  is  also  the  terminus  of  a  branch  of  the  Oregon 


ABOUT   OREGOX'S   INLAND    EMPIRE. 


151 


and  Washington  TeiTitoiy  Railroad,  or  of  what  is  known  as  the 
"  Hunt  System,"  which  connects  it  with  the  Northern  Pacific 
System,  giving  it  access  by  two  trans-continental  roads. 

It  has  a  population  of  four  thousand,  good  public  buildings, 
and  the  best  hotel  in  Oregon  out  of  Portland, — the  Hotel  Pen- 
dleton,— besides  several  othei-s  of  less  proportions.  There  are 
two  flouring-niills,  foundry  and  machine-shops,  sash-  and  door- 
factory  and  planingmill,  city  water-works,  telephone  connection 
with  every  part  of  East  Oregon,  three  banks,  seven  churches,  good 
common  school,  a  Protestant  and  a  Catholic  academy,  and  nu- 
merous substantial  and  costly  business  houses,  not  the  least 
imposing  of  which  is  the  office  of  the  East  Oregonian  newspaper. 

The  Umatilla  Reservation  will  soon  bo  open  for  settlement, 
and  will  add  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand  aeres  of  the 
best  land  in  East  Oregon  to  the  area  of  Umatilla  County  cul- 
tivable lands,  and  will  greatly  increase  the  wealth  of  Pendleton, 
which  lies  just  on  the  boundary. 

This  prosperous  town  was  founded  in  1868,  and  named  after 
George  II.  Pendleton.  Here  resides  a  descendant  of  that  Alex- 
ander McKay  who  was  on  board  Astor's  vessel,  the  "Tonquin," 
Avhich  was  destroyed  by  the  Inaians  of  the  Washington  coast, 
in  1812,  and  every  soul  with  her  murdered.  His  son  Thomas, 
then  about  fourteen  years  of  age,  was  left  at  Astoria  when  the 
"Tonquin"  sailed  on  this  expedition,  and  so  escaped  the  fate  of 
his  father.  Subsequently  he  came  under  the  guardianship  of 
Dr.  McLoughlin,  who  mai-ried  his  mother,  the  widow  of  Alex- 
ander McKay.  Thomas  McKay  was  a  noted  man  among  the 
fur  companies  of  the  Northwest — a  brave  man,  and  a  witty  one. 
He  married,  first,  a  Chinook  woman,  and  had  three  sons  ;  married 
again,  and  iiad  a  son  and  daughter.  The  eldest  of  these  chil- 
dren was  William  C.  McKay,  who  was  educated  in  the  East 
and  studied  medicine.  He  is  the  physician  on  the  Umatilla 
Reservation.  His  half-brother,  Donald  McKay.  distinguisho<l 
himself  as  a  leader  of  scouts  in  the  Snake  and  Modoc  Indian 
wars,  and  both  men  have  rendered  important  '=jrvice  in  the 
struggles  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  country  with  savagery. 

Weston,  Centreville,  Adams,  Milton,  and  several  other  small 
but  thriving  towns  are  in  Umatilla  County.  The  old  town  of 
Umatilla  Landing,  on  the  Columbia,  was  in  the  days  of  mining 


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ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


excitement  in  Boise  and  Owyhee  u  lively  place,  but  its  glory 
lias  departed  with  the  boats  of  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation 
(Company. 

Morrow  County,  borderhig  Umatilla  on  the  west,  is  drained  by 
Willow  Creek  and  branches.  It  has  the  reputation  of  being  the 
banner  county  for  stock,  and  a  great  wool-producing  district. 
Even  the  sandy  belt  along  the  Columbia  is  said  to  furnish  ex- 
cellent range  for  cattle  in  the  winter  season,  the  grass  grow'ng 
well  among  the  sage  brush.  The  county  was  named  after  J.  L. 
Morrow,  a  member  of  the  Legislature  when  it  was  organized  in 
1885. 

lleppner  is  the  county-seat  of  Morrow,  and  was  named  in 
honor  of  Henry  lleppner,  who  served  the  county  in  its  infancy 
by  securing  mail  connections  and  postal  service.  A  railroad 
connects  il  with  the  O.  11.  and  N.  line.  It  has  four  churches,  a 
public-school  building,  a  newspaper,  a  bank,  a  tlouring-mill,  and 
various  business  firms.  The  wool-clip  of  1890  delivered  at 
lleppner  will,  it  is  said,  exceed  three  million  pounds. 

Gilliam  County,  next  west  of  Morrow,  is  a  small  district, 
watered  by  several  small  afiiuents  of  John  Day  Eiver.  It  em- 
braces a  variety  of  surface,  and  lias  a  greater  variety  of  resoui'ces 
*han  some  larger  counties.  The  basalti ;  formation,  so  universal 
elsewhere,  disappeai's  in  the  southern  portion  of  Gilliam  County, 
and,  instead  of  lava,  sandstone  conglomerates,  shales,  and  other 
foi'Muitions  of  the  carboniferous  era  take  its  place.  Beds  of  coal 
have  been  discovered  which  promise  to  be  of  great  value;  also 
coal-oil  and  iron. 

Arlington,  on  the  Columbia  River,  was  the  county-seat,  which 
lias  been  removed  to  Condon.  Fossil,  situated  on  the  head  of 
a  small  stream  south  of  the  basalt,  as  mentioned  above,  is  so 
named  on  account  of  the  i-emarkable  fossils  found  in  the  neigh- 
borhood by  Professor  Condon. 

The  other  towns  in  the  county  are  Contention,  Fleits,  Clem, 
Matney,  Lone  Rock,  Olex,  Idea,  Rockville,  Blalock.  and  Willows. 
This  county  was  named  in  remembrance  of  the  pioneer.  Colonel 
Gilliam,  who  was  killed  near  Willow  Creek  by  the  accidental 
discharge  of  a  gun  while  going  to  the  relief  of  the  volunteers, 
in  the  Cayuse  Indian  war  of  1847. 

Wasco  County  was  organized  in  185 1,  when  it  comprised  the 


ABOUT  Oregon's  inland  empire. 


153 


whole  of  Eastern  Oregon.  It  has  been  divided  and  subdivided 
until  it  is  now  contained  between  Des  Chutes  Eiver  on  the  east 
and  the  Cascade  Mountains  on  the  west,  with  a  length  from 
north  to  soutli  of  about  sixty  miles.  A  great  number  of  streams 
rising  in  Mount  Hood  malce  this  elevated  region  one  of  the 
choicest  portions  of  East  Oi'egon  for  grazing,  as  it  is  for  fi-uit- 
raising  and  agriculture.  Water-power  is  abundant,  and  timber 
and  wool  also,  which  should  suggest  factories  in  this  region. 

The  Dalles,  which  is  the  county-seat,  has  been  spoken  of  in 
another  ])lace.  Hood  River,  also  on  tlie  Columbia,  and  the  O. 
R.  and  N.  Railroad,  is  one  of  the  popular  resorts  of  the  people 
from  the  west  side.  A  Portland  C(jmpany  has  recently  pur- 
chased a  tract  overlooking  the  Columbia,  with  a  grand  view  of 
Mount  Adams  and  White  Salmon  River,  on  .the  Washington  side, 
with  a  lake  in  the  immediate  neighborhood,  and  other  charms, 
includin/ij  pure  air  and  good  fishing,  and  here  is  to  be  erected  a 
comfortable  hotel  for  visitors.  The  name  of  the  new  resort  is 
Idlewilde.  There  are  a  dozen  other  towns  and  post-offices  in 
the  county. 

The  latest  division  of  Wasco  Count}'  was  in  1889,  when  that 
part  lying  between  Des  Chutes  and  John  Day  Rivers  was  cut 
off  to  make  Sherman  County,  which  honors  General  Sherman. 
It  consists  of  high  rolling  land,  on  which  excellent  crops  ai'e 
raised,  including  the  cereals,  sorghum,  fruit,  and  vegetables.  It 
has  a  number  of  towns  and  about  two  thousand  inhabitants. 

Crook  County,  south  of  Wasco,  was  named  in  honor  of  Gen- 
eral Crook,  and  shares  with  Wasco  the  trade  of  the  Warm 
Springs  Indian  Reservation,  wheie  reside  the  warriors  who  aided 
the  general  in  his  campaign  against  their  old  enemies,  the  Snakes, 
and  who  took  part  in  the  Modoc  troubles.  Crook  County  was 
organize  1  in  1882.  It  is  divided,  like  Wasco,  by  Des  Chutes 
River,  and  watered  amply  by  Crooked  River  and  its  affluents. 
It  contains  a  good  deal  of  broken  basaltic  land,  but  is  neverthe- 
less a  good  stock  country,  with  many  small  agricultural  valleys. 
Prineville,  the  county-seut,  enjoys  a  good  trade.  A  wagon-road 
to  Eugene  runs  down  the  McKenzie  fork  of  the  Wallamet. 

Although  not  on  the  main  line  of  the  Oregon  Pacific,  it  will 
have  a  branch.  This  road  is  laid  out  on  the  lands  of  the  Wil- 
lamette Valley  and  Cascade  Mountain   Military  Wagon-Road 


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154 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


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Company,  which  secured  an  itnmenso  grant  upon  the  pretence 
of  constructing  a  public  highway  across  the  central  portion  of 
East  Oregon,  but  which  forfeited  its  franchise.  The  two  com- 
panies are  contesting  their  claims  in  the  courts,  and  meanwhile 
the  land  in  question  is  withheld  from  sale.  There  have  been  three 
of  these  military  road  projects  across  East  Oregon,  the  other  two 
being  The  Dalles  Military  Road  and  the  Oregon  (Central  Military 
Road,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State,  neither  having  any  just 
claim  to  the  lands  obtained  from  the  government  by  misrepre- 
sentation and  political  jugglery.  The  Oregon  Pacific  will,  it  is 
expected,  obtain  title  to  the  lands  in  dispute,  when  no  doubt  its 
affairs  will  brighten.  The  road  passes  southeast  through  Crook 
and  Harney  Counties,  and  makes  its  way  to  Snake  River  through 
the  caflon  of  Malheur  River,  which,  being  very  rocky  and  very 
tortuous,  has  demanded  a  heavy  outlay  in  labor  and  capital. 
When  completed  it  will  work  a  wonderful  transformation  in 
this  now  remote  region. 

Grant  County,  occupying  the  central  portion  of  East  Oregon, 
and  consisting  of  a  series  of  high  plateaux,  is  chiefly  given  over 
to  sheep  and  cattle  ranges.  Thei*e  are  considerable  tracts  of 
pine,  fir,  and  tamarack,  and  numerous  small  valleys  where  grain 
and  fruit  yield  abundantly.  This  county  formerly  contained  a 
greater  area  than  any  other  in  Oregon,  being  two  hundred  miles 
in  length  and  ninety  in  breadth,  but  has  recentlj'^  been  divided 
so  as  to  include  only  the  country  drained  by  John  Day  River. 
Canyon  City  is  the  county-seat.  It  was  first  settled  in  18G2, 
and  incorporated  in  1864,  when  it  had  two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred inhabitants  and  was  the  centre  of  great  mining  activity. 
It  has  to-day  a  population  of  eight  hundred,  having  suffered  the 
decline  to  which  mining  towns  are  subject,  and  having  been 
devastated  by  fire.  It  is,  however,  having  a  revival  of  progress, 
to  which  it  has  been  stimulated  by  the  prospect  of  railroad 
connection  with  the  O.  R.  and  N.  line. 

Harney  County,  the  territory  cut  off  from  Grant,  is  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-five  miles  in  extent  fi-om  north  to  south,  and 
ninety  from  west  to  east.  It  contains  the  Harney  and  Malheur 
Lakes,  and  the  Chi-istmas  or  Warner  Lakes,  of  which  we  have 
all  read  in  Fremont's  explorations  and  other  government  rep^orts. 
All  are  more  or  less  impregnated  with  alkali.    Geologically  they 


ABOUT   ORE«0]S'  S    INLAND   EMPIRK. 


155 


aro  supposutl  to  bo  tho  last  vestiges  of  that  jinoionr  soa  which 
once  covered  this  intor-montane  region,  around  whose  shores 
and  in  whoso  sands  aro  found  tho  fossil  remains  of  ])rehistoric 
fauna  and  flora.  Their  modern  history  is  closely  connected  with 
cumpaigns  against  the  marauding  tribes  of  Northern  Nevada, 
whom  General  Crook  finally  vanquished. 

Ilarney  Valley  contains  about  two  hundred  thousand  acres 
of  excellent  land,  of  which  forty  thousand  is  a  natural  meadow, 
wliich  is  dotted  over  with  numberless  cattle  and  horses.  Tho 
entrance  to  tin's  valley  is  a  surprise,  aftei-  the  ruggodncss  of  tho 
Blue  Mountains.  Tt  is  oval  in  sliap«,  and  lies  encircled  by  ranges, 
some  neai",  some  distant,  which  enclose  it  like  tho  rim  of  a  bowl. 
The  i)opulHli()n  is  eighteen  hundred  and  fiftj*.  of  whom  about 
two  hundred  are  Indians  and  Ciiinese. 

Harney  City,  on  the  north  side,  near  the  site  of  old  Camp 
Ilaruoy,  was  formerly-  the  county-seat.  This  has  been  removed 
to  Burns,  fourteen  miles  south,  on  Silvio's  Eiver,  near  tho  cross- 
ing of  tho  Oregon  Pacific,  a  new  and  growing  town  of  five  hun- 
dred inhabitants,  and  tlie  most  promising  at  present  of  an}^  in 
this  region.  Saddle  Butte  and  Silver  City  are  two  other  embryo 
towns,  with  little  to  supjiort  them  at  present. 

East  of  Harney  is  Malheur  County,  which  is  in  the  same  cat- 
egory as  to  isolation, — onh'  a  wagon-road  connecting  it  with 
Grant  or  Harney.  It  is  about  one  hundred  and  forty-four  by 
sixty  miles  in  extent,  with  but  a  small  portion  populated,  in 
the  fork  of  the  Malheur  and  Snake  Rivers.  It  is  watered  in  the 
southern  part  by  tho  Owyhee  River,  and  has  Snake  River  on 
its  eastern  boundary. 

The  Oregon  Short  Line  (Union  Pacific)  through  Idaho  crosses 
the  Snake  River  near  the  northern  boundary,  and  thus  atfords  a 
means  of  transportation  for  this  end  of  the  county.  The  Ore- 
gon Pacific  follows  the  course  of  the  Malheur  River  to  or  near 
its  mouth,  where  it  crosses  into  Idaho,  and  when  completed  will 
lun  to  Boise  City.  The  county  was  named  from  the  river,  which 
received  its  name  (meaning  unfortunate)  from  the  early  French 
explorers,  who  mot  with  disaster  of  some  kind  upon  its  banks. 
The  surface  of  the  country  is  high,  and  tho  soil  dry,  but  it  is 
a  good  grazing  region.  The  largest  hoi'se-farm  in  the  United 
States  is  located  at  Ontario,  on  the  Snake  River,  one  company 


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156 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


owning  ten  thousand  horses  of  improved  blood.     Vale  is  the 
county-seat,  besides  which  there  are  several  otlier  settlements. 

Immediately  north  oi"  Malheur  is  Baker  County,  named  after 
General  E.  D.  Baker,  who  fell  at  Ball's  Bluff,  it  embraces  the 
valley  of  Burnt  River,  and  shares  with  Union  County  the 
valley  of  Powder  Eiver,  whose  soil,  according  to  a  miner  from 
that  region,  is  so  fertile  that,  '■  if  a  crowbar  should  be  left  stick- 
ing in  the  ground  overnight,  it  would  be  found  in  the  morning 
to  have  sprouted  tenpeim}-  nails." 

But  Baker  County  is  more  celebrat'  for  its  mineral  than  its 
agricultural  products,  about  halt'  its  population  being  engageil  in 
mining.  There  are  several  lai'ge  lumber-mills  in  the  county, 
and  the  exports  are  chiefly  lumber,  wool,  and  live  stock,  although 
marble,  limestone,  and  granite  are  abundant,  and  fruit  is  marketed 
to  some  extent. 

Baker  Cit}-,  on  the  O.  E.  and  N.  line,  and  having  connection 
with  the  Northern  Pacific,  is  the  county-seat  and  chief  town. 
It  is,  in  fact,  rapidly  develoj^ing  into  a  city  of  considerable  im- 
portance, having  a  population  of  four  thousand  five  hundred. 
It  calls  itself  the  Gateway  of  the  Inland  Empire,  or  at  least  the 
Southern  Gateway  of  the  same,  and  is  earning  its  honors  by 
a  legitimate  course  of  improvement.  A  stoc  k  company  with 
a  capital  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  has  been 
formed  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  the  watei's  of  Powder  Eiver 
in  irrigating  ditches  to  Baker  City  and  surrounding  country. 
A  railroad  is  being  constructed  forty  or  fifty  miles  west  into 
the  mining  districts  at  the  head  of  the  John  Day  Eiver,  which 
will  not  only  facilitate  mining  operations,  but  will  open  up  a 
white-pine  belt  of  great  value,  where  a  large  mill  is  about. to  be 
erected.  A  project  not  quite  so  far  advanced  is  that  of  build- 
ing a  railroad  twenty -five  miles  east  into  the  Seven  Devils 
country  in  Idaho,  where  smelting  ores  of  gold,  silver,  and 
copper  are  found, — copper  predominating.  The  traffic  on  the 
upper  Snake  Eiver  is  at  present  supported  by  these  mines, 
which  Baker  City  desires  to  make  tributary  to  itself  The 
Union  Pacific  also  contemplates  a  branch  line  to  the  Pine  Creek 
mines,  sixty-five  miles  northeast  of  this  city.  , 

There  is  no  doubt  of  the  enviable  position  of  Baker.  Colonel 
J.  W.  Virtue,  owner  of  the  well-known  Virtue  Mine,  and  the 


ABOUT   OREGON  8   INLAND   EMPIRE. 


157 


pioneer  luiiiiiif^  man  of  this  reifioii,  places  flic  output  of  the 
placer  iniricH  at  one  niilliou  five  hundred  (iiousand  dollars 
annuiUly,  and  of  the  quartz  mines*  at  two  million  dollars.  A 
company  is  boiui;  organized  to  bring  water  upon  a  dead  river 
ehaimel,  or  lead  similar  to  the  Blue  Lead  of  (California,  from  which 
it  is  expected  to  derive  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollara 
annually,  and  which  will  Ik-  tributary  to  Baker  City.  This 
channel  has  yielded  luiggcls  weighing  from  eight  hundred 
dollars  to  three  thousand  two  hundred  dollars.  "Six  miles  from 
Baker,"  says  Cohmel  Virtue  '•  there  are  farms  upon  one  etid  of 
which  the  owner  harvests  forty,  fifty,  or  sixty  bushels  of  wheat 
l»er  acre,  and  on  the  other  end  takes  out  gold  dnst  at  fifly  cents 
a  pan  from  his  placers." 

Baker  City  has  a  highly  picturesque  -  ituation,  being  upon  a 
level  plateau  of  three  thousand  feet  elevation,  surrounded  by 
cones  and  peaks  of  a  variety  of  forms,  some  wooded,  others  bare, 
and  still  othei's  rising  to  the  snow-lino.  The  city  i  *  supplied 
with  excellent  water  from  three  artesian  wells,  the  water  being 
pumped  into  a  reservoir  at  the  rate  of  sixty  thousand  gallons 
per  hour.  The  I'eligious  sentiment  of  the  population  is  repre- 
sented by  five  church-edifices,  well  filled  on  the  Sabbath.  A 
thirty-thousand-dollar  public-school  building  gives  evidence  of 
the  value  set  upon  educational  facilities,  as  well  as  of  the  wealth 
of  the  community.  The  Catholics  also  have  a  school  for  young 
ladies.  There  are  three  newspapers,  two  of  them  dailies  and 
weeklies.  An  electric-light  plant  furnishes  illumination  to  the  . 
streets ;  and  a  streetcar  lino  runs  from  the  railroad  depot 
through  the  heart  of  the  city.  A  now  brick  hotel — the  War- 
shauer — is  being  completed,  at  a  cost  of  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  The  foundation  is  laid  by  the  Geroux  Amalgamating 
and  Manufacturing  Company,  with  a  capital  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  for  an  amalgamator,  and  in  connec- 
tion with  it  a  found r}'^  and  general  nuichine-works.  The  present 
manufactures  are  confined  to  planing-mills,  flouring- mills,  brick- 
3-ards,  etc.  The  Warm  Mineral  Springs  of  Baker  are  much 
resorted  to.  A  national  bank,  assay  offices,  and  a  building  and 
loan  association  facilitate  business  operations. 

Baker  City  is  the  largest  distributing  point  east  of  the  moun- 
tains in  Oregon,  and  in  1863  it  was  a  stage  station  on  the  road 


um 


'  Mm 


mi' 


iliiiii 


I  ■  ':: 


158 


ATLANTIS   AUISKX. 


tj 

l-i'i 


IM 


to  Boise.  As  the  placer  ininew  in  Idiilio  mid  in  East  Oivj^on 
wore  worked  out,  many  gold-hunters  turned  fjirniers  and  settled 
the  fertile  Powder  River  Valley,  finally  foundiiii;  a  eity  here, 
Mhich  has  grown  and  j)i'()S])ered,  while  Aubuin,  a  mining  town 
eleven  miles  away  which  once  boasted  ten  thousand  inhabitants, 
is  left  like  Goldsmith's  Auburn, — a  '-deserted  village." 

Lake  County,  which  lies  south  of  Crook  and  west  of  Grant, 
belongs  to  that  division  of  Oregon  which  is  di-ained  by  streams 
not  running  in  any  general  direction,  but  either  sinking  in  the 
earth  or  flowing  into  some  of  the  alkaline  lakes  frequent  in  this 
region.  Salt  marshes  also  are  found,  one  on  Silver  Lake  and 
another  on  Warner  Lake,  whicli  produce  salt  of  good  quality. 
The  soil  is  warm  and  productive,  but,  owing  to  the  entire  absence 
of  railroads,  stock-raising  and  wool-growing  are  the  chief  indus- 
tries. The  timber  of  the  hilly  portions  is  pine,  juniper,  and 
mahogany,  which,  with  the  facilities  afforded  for  milling  by 
the  lakes,  makes  lumbering  also  an  im})ortant  business.  It  is 
expected  that  a  railroad  branching  off  from  the  Southern  Pacific 
will  cross  this  countj'  some  time  in  the  near  future.  Whenever 
this  section  is  made  accessible  to  travel  it  is  sure  to  be  much 
sought  by  invalids,  for  the  air  is  the  most  delightful  that  can  be 
imagined, — so  bright  and  sparkling,  so  warm  and  dry.  The 
summer's  heat  is  not  oppressive,  although  the  mercury  runs  up 
pretty  well.  The  winters  are  cold,  owing  to  the  elevation,  but 
are  not  long. 

Lakeview  is  the  county-seat  and  principal  town.  It  is  situ- 
ated near  the  northern  end  of  Goose  Lake,  at  the  foot  of  a  range 
of  wooded  hills,  and  has  tributarj'  to  it  the  whole  Goose  Lake 
Valley.  The  population  is  about  eight  hundred.  It  has  a  good 
court-house,  two  or  three  churches,  a  handsome  public-school 
building,  a  bank,  a  newspaper,  and  several  substantial  busi- 
ness houses,  and  is,  in  fact,  a  representative  new  town  of  the 
West, — rather  surprisingly  modern  and  thrifty,  considering  its 
remoteness. 

Klamath  County,  lying  at  the  base  of  the  Cascade  Mountains 
on  the  east,  is  an  elevated  region  with  a  diversified  surface:  the 
northern  part  being  of  a  broken  or  "desert"  character;  the 
middle  part,  devoted  to  the  Klamath  Indian  Reservation,  con- 
taining a  variety  of  land, — marsh,  woodland,  river-bottoms,  and 


ABOUT  Oregon's  inland  kmpiui;. 


159 


jtliuna;  and  in  the  HOiithern  portion  tlio  gnissy  vjilloys  ul'  Lost 
River  uiid  Link  River,  and  of  the  Upj)er  KlanuUh,  Lower 
Klamath,  Modoc,  and  other  smaller  lakes.  Kiumath  County  i« 
well  watered  by  Williamson,  S|)i'aguo,  and  Lost  Rivers,  besides 
its  many  lakes.  There  is  also  a  canal  for  irrigation  purposes, 
starting  from  the  head  of  Ivink  River  and  running  southeasterly 
forty  miles  to  Lost  River;  anothei"  taking  water  out  of  Klamath 
Lake  to  float  logs  to  a  saw-null  twelve  miles  from  the  lake;  and 
a  third  taking  water  to  a  large  roller  flonring-mill. 

Klamath  County  has  been  devoted  to  stock-raising,  as  it  had 
no  moans  of  moving  crops.  Yet  it  was  wheat  raised  in  this 
county  which  took  the  premium  at  the  National  Exposition  of 
1884,  at  New  Orleans.  Both  Lake  and  Klamath  Counties  raise 
fine  wheat  at  an  elevation  of  four  thousand  and  five  thousand 
feet,  and  grow  excellent  fruit  and  vegetables. 

The  water-power  of  Link  River  is  very  inviting,  there  being  a 
fall  of  sixty-four  feet  in  a  mile  and  a  quarter,  the  average  breadth 
of  the  stream  being  three  hundred  and  ton  feet;  but  only  one 
saw-  and  one  flouring-mill  have  been  erected  upon  it.  I  have 
referred  in  another  place  to  the  peculiar  features  of  the  Klamath 
basin,  which  make  it  a  wonderland, — namely,  Crater  Lake,  the 
volcanic  deposits,  hot  springs  and  cold  springs,  and  rivers  that 
start  from  nothing  and  after  running  some  distance  disappear. 

Klamath  County  was  long  under  the  protection  of  Fort 
Klamath,  established  on  the  border  of  the  Indian  Reservation 
in  1804.  It  was  the  scene  in  1872-3  of  the  Modoc  War,  and  of 
many  bloody  battles  and  massacres,  the  storj*  of  which  will  long 
furnish  material  for  the  novelist  as  well  as  the  historian. 

Linkville,  situated  on  Litdc  River,  which  unites  the  Upper 
and  Lower  Klamath  Lak-es,  is  the  eouiit3'-seat  ami  metropolis 
of  this  district.  It  has  a  ])opulation  of  about  seven  hundred, 
a  handsome  court-house,  supports  a  newspaper,  a  church,  and 
a  graded  public  school,  has  several  factories,  and  is  a  resort  for 
health-seekers,  who  use  the  hot  and  cold  baths  furnished  by 
nature  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  The  town  suffered  greath' 
by  fire  in  September,  1889,  but  is  being  rebuilt  in  an  improved 
style  and  with  many  fine  structures.  Linkville  was  founded 
in  1871  by  George  Nourse,  who  planted  a  nur.sery  on  the  river- 
bank  at  the  foot  of  the  upper  lake,  which  is  still  growing  there. 


1.1, 


' '  u 


^mmmmmmm 


fij 


i 


N:'' 


160 


ATLANTiS   ARLSEX. 


furnishing  fruit-trees  to  settlers.  Tlicro  are  about  a  dozen  other 
haralfts  ii)  this  district,  which  are  waiting  for  transportation 
facilities. 

In  this  county  resides,  wifcli  his  sons,  the  aged  Lindsay  Apple- 
gate,  brother  of  the  '■  Sage  of  Yoncalla,"  and  a  historic  character. 
His  father  was  Daniel  Applegate,  who  fought  in  the  Revolution- 
ary W'lr,  and  who  married  a  daughter  of  Jolni  Limisay,  one  of 
Daniel  Booiie's  associates  in  the  settlement  of  Kentucky.  In 
the  year  1823  Lindsay  Applegate  accompanied  General  Ashley 
in  an  expedition  up  the  Missouri, — the  Srst  American  company 
that  fitted  out  for  fur-hunti'ig  in  the  Bocky  Mountains.  Tvs^enty 
years  later  he  helped  break  the  first  wagon-road  into  Oregon, 
where  he  has  borne  his  part  in  building  up  a  pros^xirous  common- 
wealth. Soon  the  last  of  this  class  of  Amcrian  State-builders 
will  have  'jassed  away  with  the  times  which  called  them  forth, 
but  the  coming  generationii  should  not  be  permitted  to  consign 
them  to  oblivion.  The  noblest  thing  that  the  Oi-egon  poet, 
.Toaqu  n  Miller,  has  written  refers  to 

"  Those  brave  men  buffeting  the  West 
With  lifted  f'wes.     Full  were  they 
Of  great  endeavor.     Brave  and  true 
As  stern  crusader.  .  .  . 
Made  strong  with  hope  thej-  dared  to  do. 

****** 
What  b'ave  endeavor  to  endure ! 
What  patient  hope,  when  hope  was  past  t 
What  still  surrender  at  the  livst 
A  thousand  leagues  from  hope !     How  pure 
They  lived,  how  proud  they  died  1" 

A  drawback  to  the  settlement  of  East  Oregon  has  been  the 
large  aniount  of  land  held  by  wagon-road  companies,  who  in  the 
past,  under  a  pretence  of  buildir.g  a  needed  highway  to  the  Idaho 
or  Oregon  mines,  secured  grants  from  Congress  upon  terms 
never  honorably  complied  with.  These  grants,  which  will  evcnt- 
tuilly  be  declared  forfeited,  are  still  unsettled.  Another  class  of 
idle  lands  is  that  fraudulently  taken  up  under  the  Swamp  Land 
Act,  large  tra-'its  of  which  are  being  restored  to  the  government 
and  opened  for  settlement  along  with  the  other  governm*  at 
lands.     There  are,  however,  good  tracts  fr  v'  to  entry,  and  de- 


-  m 


ABOUT   OREGON  S   INLAND    EMPIRE. 


161 


sirable  for  homes,  in  every  part  of  East  Oregon,  but  chiefly  in 
the  central  and  southern  portions.  As  the  country  settles  up 
the  cattle-raiaei's  will  be  restricted  to  narrower  limits,  and  agri- 
culture force  from  the  ■  aith  the  wealth  now  lying  unrecognized. 
The  following  is  a  coiaparative  statement  of  the  counties  of 
East  Oregon  at  the  beginning  of  the  j-ear  1890. 


if 


o  c 

1^ 

s 
» 

o 

EH 

la 

■D 

"5 -.3 
3  X  a 

532 

1 
1 
1 

s 
.2 

a. 
a 

Equalized 
County 

1^ 

^3 
> 

"2 

Dollars. 

Dtillars. 

Dnltan. 

DoWarg. 

DoUart. 

DoH(ir«. 

Onllarn. 

Baker    .  . 

101,816 

424,801 

3ll,ia^ 

864,100 

2,719,368 

780,252 

139.180 

1,799,936 

Crook    .  . 

81,799 

396,270 

62,505 

862,877 

2,008,822 

570,130 

128,400 

1,310,272 

Gilliam    . 

81,9H8 

371,031 

273,823 

561,978 

2,000,387 

524,:«)3 

130,450 

1,364,416 

Harney    . 

1.^4, .^20 

396,276 

9,4J2 

1,011,224 

1,727,024 

189,039 

65,449 

1,472,486 

Grant    .  . 

111,71() 

300,41.-) 

10,260 

990,123 

2.249,3")6 

572,396 

>       •       • 

1 ,684,290 

Klamath  . 

341,437 

,W2,612 

88,314 

4K(),317 

1.607,491 

345,063 

140.865  ll,11.5,.')63i 

Lake  .  .  . 

7!),4o2 

321,805 

•      •      • 

864,148 

2,180,079 

.38.1,829 

115,,H94  !  1,678.3661 

Malheur  . 

103,80.3 

231,699 

11,915 

720,201 

1,332,292 

210,176 

61.119 

1,046,977 

Morrow    . 

12G,-J79 

417,735 

158,355 

624,533 

2,344,415 

810,176 

255.444 

1,333,824 

Sherman  . 

Umatilla  . 

380,209 

2,247,.'-)85 

,l,0.-i2,379 

88,1,980 

8.396,759 

2,666,262 

590.7()0 

5,6,55,469 

Union   .  . 

27.">,4M 

l,496,Ui-J0 

376,414 

749,.'i70 

4,587,645 

1.405,600 

311,285 

2,812,290 

Wallowa  . 

72,731 

•      •      > 

•      >      > 

42<),]ivl 

1,291,642 

383,875 

151,209 

756,567 

Wasco   .  . 

169,777 

649,609 

722,142 

560,839 

3,758,026 

929,900 

201,460 

!  2,623,666 

The  amount  of  mortgages  recorded  against  pro[)erty  in  Baker 
County  13  $88,191 ;  Gilliam,  $159,207  ;  Klamath,  §30,223  ;  Lake, 
$192,191. 

Wagon-road  land,  not  include'  in  the  above,  is  valued  in  Lake 
County  at  $92,40G  ;  in  Wasco  tl  e  number  of  aci'os  is  estimated 
at  68,609  ;  in  Crook  County  at  229,969.  Eailroad  lai\d  in  Xm-- 
rovv  County  is  valued  at   $272,000. 

Travel  in  Eastern  Oregon  is  often  not  very  agreeable,  unless 
one  could  choose  his  route,  his  season,  and  his  conveyance. 
Early  spring  gives  the  greater  chances  of  comfort;  by  which  I 
mean  a  more  agreeable  temperature  than  either  summer  or  win- 
ter, and  less  dust  and  drought  than  autumn.  The  few  railway 
lines,  excepting  the  O.  R.  and  N.,  are  not  titted  up  for  tourist 
travvil,  but  only  for  the  short  trips  between  local  points.  From 
The  Dalles  to  Umatilla  the  road  runs  along  the  sandy  belt  near 
the  Columbia,  with  only  the  sullen  river  and  the  bare  hills  to 
which  to  turn  your  6}  es.  From  Umatilla  it  whirls  you  across 
six  or  eight  miles  of  sage-brush,  when  it  strikes  the  narrow 

11 


1 
in 


162 


ATLANTIS    ARISEN. 


iiiji! 


valley  of  the  river  of  that  name,  whicli  is  cultivated  and  jiretty 
with  its  gardens,  eotton-wood  groves,  and  thickets  of  birch,  alder, 
sumach,  and  wild  roses  in  the  sharp  liends  of  the  stream.  Pro- 
ceeding up  the  valley  you  arc  constantly  kept  on  the  alert  by 
the  dodging  of  the  train  from  one  green  vista  to  another,  and 
from  the  shelter  of  bare  hills  on  one  side  to  the  shadow  of  ovei*- 
lianging  rocks  on  tlie  opposite  side  of  some  promontory',  or 
making  a  straight  run  for  some  distance  under  the  perpendic- 
ular wall  of  a  basaltic  upheaval,  to  leap  suddenly  into  a  cotton- 
wood  copse  with  a  little  farm  home-place  close  by. 

But  all  this  is  sti'ictly  local,  and  below  the  general  level.  The 
road  from  Pendleton  to  Snake  River,  running  across  the  Blue 
Mountains  and  through  the  Grand  Eond  and  Powder  River 
Valleys,  has  more  extensive  views,  and  a  greater  variety  of 
features.  From  Wallula  Junction  to  Pendleton  the  road  lies 
the  greater  part  of  the  distance  through  a  cafion  between  hills 
so  high  ihat  only  their  sides  are  seen,  bristling  with  rock  or 
tufis  of  dry  grass,  for  miles.  But  when  we  have  crossed  the 
sand-belt,  we  observe  that  for  other  miles  and  miles  towards 
Pendleton  a  green  blanket  of  growing  wheat  hangs  over  the 
rounded  tops  of  these  high  hills,  giving  promise  of  freight  for 
this  line  after  han^est. 

Leaving  Pendleton  for  Lewiston,  our  route  takes  in  a  better 
country  than  that  nearer  the  Columbia,  skirting  the  Umatilla 
Indian  Reservation,  itian  which  there  is  no  finer  bodj'  of  land 
in  East  Oregon.  The  road  follows  the  sinuous  course  of  VVild- 
llorse  Creek  to  the  top  of  the  ridge  dividing  the  waters  of  the 
Umatilla  from  those  of  the  Walla  Walla  River,  and  from  which 
there  is  an  extensive  view  of  the  surrounding  country,  which  is 
one  vast  wbeat-iield  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach.  From  this 
point  the  Walla  Wnlla  "Valley  appears  spread  out  as  on  a  chart, 
with  the  city  of  W'alla  Walla  set  in  its  mid^t  and  embowered 
in  trees. 

From  this  ridge,  after  making  a  long  circuit  to  head  a  small 
side  valley,  and  to  gain  distance  for  the  train  in  descending, 
eteam  is  withheld  from  the  locomotive,  and  this  becomes  a 
gravity  railroad  until  we  again  strike  a  level,  where  the  train 
shoots  ahead  ^'irough  fields  of  wheat,  barley,  and  corn  to  Walla 
Walla. 


mm 


IRI'H'.l'.H.WHi'tl 


ABOUT  Oregon's  inland  EMriRE. 


163 


From  this  point  to  Snake  River  two  similar  ridi^'cs  are  crossed 
in  a  similar  manner,  the  ascent  and  descent  being  made  through 
narrow  and  crooked  cafions  entirely  shutting  out  the  view,  which 
is  seen  only  on  top  of  the  divides ;  but  from  each  of  these  there 


':  1? 


J:,  ! 


II  .M 


WlIhHK    li.VILUOADS   GO. 


is  the  same  grand  spectacle  of  boundless  whcat-tieids  rolling 
off  into  billowy  hills  in  all  directions.  The  railroad  strikes  the 
Snake  River  at  Riparia,  in  the  Palouse  country.  There  the 
traveller  is  transferred  to  a  steamboat  for  Lewiston,  where  he 
is  landed  atter  a  twelve  hours'  struggle  with  the  rapid  current 
of  the  reptilian  I'iver.  The  distance  is  eighty  miles;  and  when 
you  come  down  it  yon  make  the  voyage  in  four  hours. 

The  scenery  along  the  Snake  is  the  snme  as  along  the  Colutn- 
bia  above  Celilo, — a  strong,  swift  river  between  bare  hills  or 
columnar  cliffs  of  basalt, — the  difference  being  tliat  every  here 
and  th*'i'e  along  tlie  Snake  there  are  narrow  shelves  of  warm 


■■* 


i{ 


164 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


sandy  loam  at  the  foot  of  the  cliifs  which  are  taken  up  by  fruit- 
farmers.  As  the  steamer  comes  down,  it  being  July,  she  gathers 
up  thousands  of  boxes  of  berries,  peaches,  and  early  api)les,  to 
be  shipped  by  rail  to  Walla  Walla  and  Spokane  Falls.  These 
small  fui-ius  are  irrigated  by  water  led  on  to  them  from  springs, 
or  pumped  up  from  the  river  by  steam-power. 

Lewiston,  although  an  Idaho  town,  was  built  up  by  Oregon 
capital  as  an  outfitting  place  for  the  Florence  and  Salmon  Eiver 
mines,  in  1802.  it  is  located  on  the  point  of  land  between  the 
Snake  and  Clearwater  Rivers,  wliich  form  a  junction  here.  Tt 
was  on  the  latter  stream,  some  twelve  miles  above  here,  that 
Lewis  and  Clarke  encamped  with  the  Nez  Perces,  with  whom 
they  left  their  horses  to  be  cared  for  while  they  visited  he 
coast,  in  1805;  and  the  town  was  named  in  honor  of  the  ex- 
plorer, Merriwether  Lewis. 

The  site  of  Lewiston  is  a  particularly  pleasing  one,  the  land 
sloping  gi  vdually  up  to  the  beautiful  undulating  country  back 
of  it.  and  having  a  watei'-front  on  both  sides  of  the  point 
bounded  by  the  rivers.  North  of  the  Clearwater  the  land  rises 
abruptly  to  a  great  height.  It  is  over  beyond  this  bluff  and  on 
this  elevated  plateau  that  the  famous  grain  lands  about  Moscow 
and  Genesee  are  located,  which  are  tributary  to  WasL'igton, 
being  I'cached  by  the  O.  R.  and  N.  and  Spokane  Falls  and  Pa- 
louse  Railroads. 

Lewiston  has  a  charming  climate,  albeit  rather  warm  in 
summer.  It  has  about  twelve  hundred  inhabitants,  who  are 
waiting  for  a  railroad  to  infuse  new  life  into  its  business  system. 
It  has  gone  ahead  very  little  since  the  dnya  when  it  had  a  tran- 
sient population  of  several  thousands,  the  chief  improvement 
being  in  sliado-treos.  Both  tiie  Northern  and  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroads  are  making  preliminary  movements  towards  giving 
Lewiston  the  outlet  it  needs. 

Between  Lewiston  and  Mt.  Idaho  is  a  good  farming  country, 
to  see  which  one  must  travel  by  stage,  passing  the  beautiful 
Nez  Perce  Indian  Reservation,  and  climbing  toilsomely  to  the 
second  plateau  above  Snake  River,  where  is  a  pleasant  lake  re- 
Qort, — or  what  would  bo  a  pleasant  resort  were  the  Lake  Kouse 
anything  but  a  board  shanty, — the  fare  being  excellent. 

Thirty  miles  beyond,  the  traveller  comes  to  a  rolling  plaieau, 


CO 

z 
> 

m 

X 

< 

m 


I 


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wmKm 


A   CHAT   ABOUT   OREGON   MOUNTAINS, 


165 


four  thousand  feet  above  sea-level,  scatteringly  covered  with 
iofty  pines,  underneath  which  grows  the  short,  thick  grass 
known  as  "  pine-grass,"  giving,  with  the  groups  of  cattle  hero 
and  there,  a  park-like  aspect  to  the  woodland.  Beyond  this 
twenty  miles,  and  five  hundred  feet  lower,  is  the  valley  resem- 
bling Gi-and  Rond,  and  known  as  Camas  Prairie,  with  the 
town  of  Mt.  Idaho  in  the  southeast  corner. 

Here  let  us  stop,  for  we  are  oft'  our  prescribed  territory  ;  but 
this  pan-handle  of  Idaho  naturally  belongs  to  the  State  of  Wash- 
ington, and  has  been  repeatedly  claimed  by  it.  It  contains, 
besides  a  good  deal  of  superior  farming  land,  the  Coeur  d'Alene 
mines,  all  of  which  territory  is  at  present  tributary  to  Washing- 
ton, and  must  in  a  groat  measare  ^rver  remain  so,  being  shut  off" 
by  natural  barriers  from  Southern  Idaho.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  southern  counties  of  this  now  State  could  ill  spare  the  best 
of  its  farming  territory,  arul,  ••  'ng  now  a  State,  will  not. 


i!ii- 


CHAPTER    XII. 

A   CHAT   ABOUT   OREGON    MOUNTAINS. 

If  there  is  anything  of  which  an  Oregoniun  is  more  proud 
than  another,  it  is  of  tiis  mountains,  for  every  one  exhibits 
that  personal  interest  in  them  which  amounts  to  a  sense  of 
proprietorship.  Portland  shop-windows  arc  full  of  bad  pictures 
of  Mount  Hood,  which,  notwithstanding  their  deficiencies  from 
an  artistic  point  of  view,  ai'e  yet  pleasingly  suggestive.  That 
they  sell  is  certain,  for  the  pi-oduction  never  ceases. 

I  may  as  well  confess  right  here  that  I  am  myself  responsible 
for  starting  this  particular  fad.  Years  ago,  on  my  first  visit 
to  Oregon,  I  was  delighted  with  the  charming  cloud-effects  so 
noticeably  lacking  in  the  drier  climate  of  California,  as  well  as 
with  the  woods  and  the  snow-peaks.  My  enthusiasm  in  my 
correspondence  with  the  well-known  California  artist,  F.  A. 
Butman,  "  slopped  over"  to  such  an  extent  that  ho  came  up  here 
and  made  a  good  many  sketches.  On  returning  he  painted  a 
"  Moutit  Hood"  on  a  large  canvas,  with  a  beautiful  foreground, 


1 18,  i'll 

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ATLANTIS    ARISKX. 


wliic'li,  by  ihc  way,  was  a  coin))Osition,  for  thero  is  no  such  actual 
foivground  for  the  mountain  in  nature.  I  purchased  tlie  picture, 
and  rather  thoughtlessly  allowed  it  to  he  photon-raphed.  Fi-oni 
thai  photograph,  with  variations  never  original  enough  to  dis- 
guise tho  source  of  inspiration,  have  been  painted  numberless 
other  Mount  Hoods,  which,  could  poor  Bntman,  long  since  gone 
to  the  Hills  15eautiful  of  a  better  country  beyond  the  inipassable 
boui'iie,  behold,  lie  would  wish  to  blot  out. 


(IN    TUE    t-UMMM    Ul'       '.    Ul'-ll- ■■■ 


The  name  of  Oregon  s  principal  i-ange,  l|i0  (JH^'H'I'''^,  which 
has  a  nearly  iu)rtli-and-south  coui'se,  proiiably  cahie  ironi  the 
fact  that  the  only  passage  known  thrtaigh  thcui  tu  I  ho  eail} 
explorer,  hunter,  or  tourist  was  the  one  at  the  the  mile  rMpld», 
which  rapids  seem  to  have  been  always  called  tlu;  Cascades. 
These  were  of  more  iuiporlance  to  tho  voyageur  who  had  lo 
make  a  dilflcult  portage  than  the  mountains  thonisolves,  and 
in  speaking  of  the  latter  lie  simply  said,  to  distinguish  them 


A  CHAT  ABOUT  OREGON  MOUNTAINS. 


167 


from  others,  "  the  Cascade  Mountains,"  and  so  named  tliora  for 
all  time. 

But  Oregon  has  several  other  though  not  as  high  ranges, — 
namely,  the  lilue  Mountains,  so  called  from  their  color  seen  acro>s 
the  tawny  waste  of  the  plains,  which  have  a  northeast  and  south- 
west course  through  East  Oregon;  the  Coast  Rungo,  which  fol- 
lows the  trend  of  the  west  shore  of  the  continent,  near  the  sea; 
and  three  or  four  cross-ranges  from  the  Cascades  to  the  Coast 
Mountains  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State.  All  these  ranges 
have  their  peaks,  but  only  the  great  Andean  chain  of  the  Cas- 
cades lifts  up  into  the  region  of  cold  air  its  crumbling  volcanic 
cones  covered  with  snow,  which  even  the  tierccst  heat  of  summer 
only  diminishes,  but  never  dissipates  except  on  the  sharpest 
ridges. 

The  most  southern  of  these,  and  next  above  California's  pride, 
— Mount  Shasta, — is  Mount  Pitt,  nine  thousand  two  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  high,  named  after  the  British  statesman  by  British 
subjects  in  Oregon  before  the  boundary  question  was  settled. 
Frequent  attempts  have  been  made  to  change  its  name  to 
Mount  McLoughlin,  in  honor  of  Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  the 
benevolent  governor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  Oregon, 
who  rescued  from  starvation  the  immigrants  of  1843,  at  a  time 
when  the  London  board  would  far  rather  they  had  been  lett 
to  perish  than  have  been  rescued,  to  the  injury  of  the  fur-trade 
and  the  weakening  of  England's  claim  on  the  territory.  So 
difficult  is  it,  however,  to  make  these  changes  understood,  that 
the  Oregonians  have  conipro  (lised  by  naming  a  lesser  peak  in 
Klamath  County  Mount  McLoughlin. 

Next  north  of  Pitt  is  Union  Peak,  feeding  the  north  fork  of 
Rogue  River.  Tlurlyhve  or  forty  miles  farther  north  is  Mount 
Scott, — whether  a  namesake  of  the  general  or  of  an  Oregon 
pioneer  I  do  not  know, — eight  thousand  five  hundred  feet  in 
height.  AI)out  the  same  distance  above  Seott,  and  of  the  same 
altitude  as  Afoiint  Pitt,  is  Mount  Thielsen,  so  called  in  compli- 
ment to  General  Thielsen,  of  the  Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation 
Railroad.  This  peak  feeds  the  south  fork  of  the  Umpqua  River. 
Again  in  thirty  or  forty  miles  rises  Diamond  Peak,  five  thousand 
five  hundred  and  ninety-five  feet  in  height,  which  is  the  source 
of  the  middle  fork  of  the  Wallamet  on  the  west  and  of  the 


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168 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


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Dos  CLutos  River  on  the  east.  At  the  head  of  McKenzie'h 
Fork  of  the  Wallamot  is  the  remark ahlo  group  of  snow-peaks 
called  the  Three  Sisters,  with  ]51ack  ]Uitte  and  Snow  Butte 
eighteen  or  twenty  miles  larther  north,  and  feeding  streams  on 
the  eastern  slope  of  the  range. 

At  the  head  of  the  Santiam  River  is  Mount  Jetlbrson, — it 
should  bo  Mount  Thomas  Jctferson, — named  by  Lewis  and 
(Jlarke  in  1806,  and  standing  wull  east  of  the  centre  of  the 
i-ango.  This  is  a  very  interesting  mountain,  and  evidently  has 
been  much  higher  than  at  present,  which  is  equally  true  of  all 
the  snow-peaks. 

Mount  Hood  is  situated  about  twenty  five  miles  south  of  the 
Columbia  River,  and  sixty  miles  east  of  the  Wallamet,  rising, 
like  Jefferson,  from  the  eastern  side  of  the  main  axis  of  the 
range.  The  western  view  of  it  is  that  of  a  massive  ])yraniid, 
with  some  slight  variations  from  exact  lines;  but  from  the 
Dalles  its  rugged  features  are  more  distinctly  seen,  and  its  out- 
lino  is  broken  into  separate  peaks  and  ridger*.  It  was  named 
after  Lord  Hood  by  Vancouver's  lieutenant,  Broughton,  Octo- 
ber 20,  1792.  The  early  Oregon  settlers,  or  some  of  them, 
wished  to  change  the  name  to  Washington,  and  to  call  the 
Cascades  the  Presidents'  Range,  but  custom  prevailed,  and  Hood 
it  remains.  The  height  of  Mount  Hood  has  never  been  satis- 
factorily ascertained.  The  measurements  taken  have  varied 
from  eighteen  thousand  to  eleven  thousand  feet,  but  later  esti- 
mates make  it  about  twelve  thousand.  Half  its  height  is  covered 
with  perpetual  snow, — that  is,  it  towers  more  than  a  mile  above 
the  range  into  the  region  of  clouds  and  storms  of  which  the 
dwellers  in  the  valley  know  nothing, — its  venerable  head  buffeted 
by  icy  blasts  even  in  summer. 

About  seventy  miles  north  and  a  little  east  of  Hood  is  Mount 
Adams,  nine  thousand  five  hundred  and  seventy  feet  in  height, 
named  after  President  J.  Q.  Adams.  It  belongs  to  Washington, 
but  is  one  of  the  five  peaks  visible  from  all  parts  of  Northern 
Oregon.  It  is  not  so  high  as  Hood  or  St.  Helen,  but  it  has  a 
noble  outline,  and  reminds  me  ot  a  sleeping  lion.  One  of  the 
curiosities  of  Mount  Adams  is  a  series  of  ice-caves,  lying  at  an 
elevation  of  four  thousand  feet,  the  trail  to  which  leads  up  the 
White  Salmon  River,  which  comes  into  the  Columbia  opposite 


■  ii        't       '! 


A    OTIAT    ABOUT   OREGON    MOUNTAINS. 


169 


Hood  River.  In  their  vicinity  the  earth  gives  forth  a  hollow, 
reverbernliiig  sound  BUggestivo  of  openings  beneath.  Tlie 
entrance  to  the  largest  cavo  is  down  a  woll-liko  shaft,  by  moans 
of  a  rope.  The  apartment  hero  is  about  eighty  feet  in  diameter, 
and  square.  The  walls  are  solid  ice,  the  floor  and  ceiling  sup- 
porting huge  fornuitions  resembling  stalactites  and  stalagmites, 
which  when  illuniiiuited  by  torches  give  out  a  splendid  dis])Iay 
of  colors.  The  air  in  these  caves  is  clear,  cold,  and  dry,  the 
temperature  being  too  low  to  permit  of  extended  explorations. 
Is  there  buried  here  an  immense  glacier,  or  does  there  exist  a 
combination  of  causes  in  the  form  of  chemical  constituents  to 
produce  ice?     Let  the  scientists  decide. 

Northwest  of  Mount  Adams,  and  a  hundred  miles  or  tnore 
north  of  Hood,  is  Mount  St.  Helen,  so  named  by  Umughton,  in 
1792, — another  mountain  of  Washington  which  enters  into  the 
panorama  of  snow-peaks  seen  from  the  Columbia  River.  It  is, 
presumably,  nine  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  height, 
an<l  remarkable  for  its  dome-like  symmetry  of  outline.  It  is 
approached  from  the  Columbia  by  the  north  fork  of  the  Cathla- 
pootle,  or  Lewis,  River,  and  is  not  difficult  of  ascent.  Mount  St. 
Helen  has  been  repeatedly  known  to  throw  c>ut  steam  and 
ashes,  scattering  the  latter  over  the  country  for  a  hundred  miles 
to  the  eastward  in  1832,  so  ob.scuring  the  da^dight  as  to  make 
it  necessary  to  burn  candles.  On  the  southern  slope  is  a  hot 
spring  that  keeps  the  rocks  always  bare,  which  spot  goes  by 
the  name  of  The  Bear, — no  pun  intended. 

I  do  not  pretend  to  have  ascended  even  one  of  the  many 
snow-peaks  of  the  Northwest.  It  requires  strength  and  wood- 
(-■I'.ift,  as  well  as  alpine  experience,  to  explore  the  Oregon  moun- 
tains on  their  western  flanks,  where  the  canons  are  deep  and 
stei  p,  where  frightful  precipices  are  to  be  scaled  with  ropes,  and 
chjMiges  of  temperature  to  be  encountered,  before  reaching  the 
snow-fields.  Therefore  I  have  contented  myself  with  achieving 
an  altitude  of  eleven  thousand  feet  in  some  places  and  between 
seven  thousand  and  eight  thousand  in  others,  and  have  taken 
my  impressions  at  second-hand  for  the  greater  heights.  The 
railroads  of  the  West  are  great  educators  in  this  respect.  They 
carry  us  easily  and  without  asking  our  consent  right  into  the 
heart  of  the  great  ranges,  and  show  to  the  most  delicate  woman 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

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170 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


or  the  city-bred  man  the  wondrous  things  of  a  fireation  forever 
going  on,  equally  by  building  up  and  breaking  down. 

Cite,  for  instance,  the  Southern  Pacific's  entrance  into  Oregon. 
It  leaves  the  Sacramento  Valley  only  to  enter  the  long,  winding 
and  beautiful  cailon  of  the  Upper  Sacramento  Eiver,  where  the 
hillsides  are  covered  with  pine,  oak,  and  madrono  forest,  the 
narrow  bottoms  with  cotton- wood,  poplai-,  and  willow  thickets, 
while  the  banks  are  overhung  with  water-loving  plants,  and  the 
river  dances  down,  down,  bright,  joyous,  and  tireless,  towards  the 
sea,  bearing  with  it  the  weariness  which  may  have  oppressed 
us ;  for  who  can  be  weary  in  such  scenes  ?  Every  now  and  then 
the  toiling  train  glides  past  a  settler's  home,  the  chosen  residence 
of  some  man  who  loves  these  beautiful  solitudes  better  than  the 
busy  life  of  towns  or  the  more  genial  climate  of  the  valley. 
Then,  again,  up  the  caiion  wo  catch  a  glimpse  of  Mount 
Shasta,  with  its  massive  bulk  divided  into  triple  peaks  piercing 
the  sky  at  fourteen  thousand  four  hundred  and  forty  feet, — 
shining  white  with  a  blue  sky  over  it. 

Up  and  up  we  go.  Lower  Soda  Springs,  Upper  Soda  Springs 
(and  what  delicious  water!);  Mossbrae  Falls  in  a  semicircle  of 
mossy  rocks, — emerald  and  silver, — where  the  water  seems  to 
come  from  the  top  of  u  mountain  in  many  streams,  a  novel 
and  charming  effect ;  then  up  and  up  once  more,  following  ridges 
and  making  long  loops  which  take  us  past  the  spot  we  touched 
twenty  or  thirty  minutes  before,  but  at  an  elevation  above  it  of 
several  hundred  feet ; — then  Sissons.  At  Sissons  is  a  fine  view 
of  Mount  Shasta,  and  an  expanse  of  level  country  beyond,  with 
this  and  other  peaks  in  sight  continually.  Across  this  elevated 
plateau  runs  the  Klamath  Eiver,  and  upon  it  is  the  once 
populous  mining  town  of  Yroka,  where  A.  D.  Richardson  dis- 
covered a  palindrome  on  a  sign, —  llreka  Bakery.  I  have  no 
doubt  this  literary  cm-iosity  still  maintains  its  position,  but  the 
railroad  avoids  the  town,  and  travellers  lose  the  opportunity  of 
verifying  it. 

Soon  begins  the  ascent  of  the  Siskiyou  (seize  cailleux)  Moun- 
tains, with  their  long  piney  slopes  and  dome-shaped  summits, 
their  cathedral-spirehke  peaks,  and  magnificent  forests  sur- 
rounding them.  By  a  winding  way,  with  enchanting  views  on 
every  hand,  we  glide  smoothly  down  the  north  side  into  the 


A  CHAT  ABOUT  OREGON  MOUNTAINS. 


171 


Rogue  River  Valley,  having  spent  twelve  hours  amidst  such 
scenery  as  can  be  met  with  in  few  parts  of  the  earth.  A.nd 
this  is  only  one.  of  several  i*oads,  which,  so  to  speak,  make  a 
feature  of  showing  the  mountains  which  traverse  the  North- 
west Pacific  Coast. 

But  to  return  to  the  Oregon  snow-peaks.  First  a  word  about 
their  explorers.  Several  j'oung  gentlemen  of  Portland,  in  Octo- 
ber, 1887,  organized  the  Alpine  Club  of  Oregon,  the  object  of 
which  was  to  found  and  maintain  a  public  museum,  encourage 
amateur  photography,  and  also  alpine  and  aquatic  exploration, 
and  to  look  to  the  protection  and  preservation  of  game  of  uU 
kinds.  It  divides  the  work  into  four  departments,  as  just  indi- 
cated.    The  explorers  are  very  enthusiastic* 

Tlie  Alpine  Club  has  made  some  special  studies  of  Mount 
Hood,  having  ascended  it  more  than  once,  photographed  it 
from  various  points,  and  illuminated  it  with  red  tiro  on  the 
evening  of  July  4,  1887,  the  illumination  lasting  fifty-eight 
seconds,  and  being  seen  from  Portland  on  the  west,  and  Prine- 
viile  on  the  east  side  of  the  range,  the  former  sixty  miles,  and 
the  latter  eighty  miles  distant.  One  hundx-ed  pounds  of  the 
combustible  were  used,  which  was  dragged  to  the  top  by  W.  G. 
Steel  and  Dr.  J.  M.  Keene,  three  of  the  party  having  become 
exhausted  two  hours  after  passing  the  timber  line. 

The  practice  of  the  club  is  to  deposit  a  copper  box  containing 
a  register  of  their  names  and  a  record  of  experiences  on  the 
summit  of  each  peak  explored  by  them.  This  is  chained  to  a 
rock  for  security,  but  left  accessible  to  any  visitors  who  may 
make  the  ascent  and  desire  to  register.  The  illumination  of 
Mount  Hood  was  repeated  in  1888,  when  heliographic  com- 
munications were  exchanged  with  the  signal-service  officers  at 
Portland.  This  experiment  suggests  the  use  of  a  signal  station 
on  the  mountain  in  lime  of  wax* — provided  the  weather  could 
be  controlled. 


*  For  the  information  ot  jther  similar  associations  wishing  to  correspond, 
I  give  tho  names  of  the  officers.  President,  George  B.  Markle  ;  Vice-Presi- 
dents, W.  G.  Steel,  W.  W.  Bretherton,  John  Gill ;  Secretary,  George  H. 
Hinies ;  Treasurer,  C.  M.  Idleman.  *  W.  G.  Steel  is  president  of  the  explorar 
tion  department,  and  ISE.  W.  Gorman  Secretary.  President  of  the  photo- 
graphic department,  W.  W.  Bretherton;  Secretary,  E.  E.  Norton. 


pp 


172 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


!!S 


The  ascent  of  Hood  is,  considering  its  height,  not  diflSeult 
on  the  south  side.  There  are  the  usual  obstructions  to  alpine 
travel, — caflons  to  be  crossed,  precipices  to  be  avoided,  snow  too 
soft  at  mid-day  and  too  icy  at  morning  or  evening,  and  a  tem- 
perature, with  wind,  on  the  peak  which  makes  a  protracted 
stay,  if  not  impossible,  undesirable  and  dangerous.  A  great 
crevasse  is  to  be  crossed,  which  is  opened  in  an  immense  glacier 
extending  quite  across  the  side  of  the  mountain  and  constantly 
moving  south.  The  opening  varies  in  width  from  a  mere  crack 
to  a  gorge  of  thirty  feet  across.  The  walls  of  the  chasm  are 
of  solid  ice,  green  for  some  distance  beneath  the  snow,  changing 
to  blue,  growing  dai'ker  and  darker  until  the  line  dividing  it 
from  space  becomes  invisible ;  nor  does  sound  reveal  when  the 
rocks  rolled  into  it  reach  bottom.  This  crevasse  is  crossed  on  a 
bridge  of  ice,  which  brings  the  adventurer  to  the  last  abrupt 
ascent  of  four  hundred  feet  to  the  summit,  which  is  accom- 
plishf  1  by  cutting  steps  in  the  ice 

The  summit  is  an  irregular  arc  of  a  circle  once  surrounding  a 
great  chimney  vomiting  forth  molten  lava,  and  is  now  rapidly 
crumbling  away.  Sulphurous  fumes  and  steam  are  still  thrown 
out  at  a  point  below  the  present  summit  called  the  crater,  where 
mountain  climbers  stop  to  warm  and  take  refreshments. 

Some  changes  are  repoi'ted  as  recently  occurring  on  Mount 
Hood,  the  crevasses  on  the  northwest  side  of  the  crater  appear- 
ing to  have  widened,  and  the  ice  surface  to  be  lowered.  One  of 
these  crevasses  can  be  seen  to  yawn  conspicuously  for  fifteen 
miles.  Many  rocks  have  become  detached  and  rolled  down ; 
among  others,  the  one  to  which  the  record  box  of  the  Alpine 
Club  was  chained,  which  was,  however,  recovered  in  a  battered 
condition  and  replaced  by  a  new  one. 

Whoever  has  the  hardihood  to  make  the  ascent  of  Mount 
Hood — and  the  number  increases  annually — has  his  reward  in 
the  prospect  to  be  gained  from  it.  From  this  altitude  all  the 
other  peaks  are  plainly  visible,  both  in  Oregon  and  Washington, 
and  the  coast  range  as  well.  East  and  west  Oregon  and  a  large 
part  of  Washington  are  spread  out  like  a  map.  The  lordly 
Columbia  may  be  seen  wending  ita  way  to  the  sea,  a  distance  of 
a  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  the  capes  at  the  mouth  showing 
plainly  where  it  unites  with  the  racific.    A  sunset  view,  with 


A  CHAT  ABOUT  OREGON  MOUNTAINS. 


m 


the  opening  between  the  capes  filled  with  a  flood  of  golden 
glorj',  may  be  enjoyed  from  the  mountain-tops.  'To  witness 
a  scene  like  this,"  exclaims  Steel,  in  his  report,  "  manj-  a  man 
would  circle  the  globe."  Imagine  the  effect  of  moonlight  upon 
it — a  full  moon — "  changing  the  day's  brilliance  into  a  subdued 
glory."  Surely  there  is  matter  for  inspiration  here.  But  at 
seven  o'clock  the  wind  blew  fiercely,  almost  carrying  the  chron- 
icler from  his  feet,  and  he  had  to  keep  in  constant  motion  not  to 
freeze.  It  lasted  but  for  an  hour,  and  at  eleven  o'clock  the  red 
fire  was  burned,  casting  a  rosy  glow  over  the  whole  mountain 
side,  bringing  into  relief  every  crag  and  pinnacle,  and  causing 
the  neighboring  mountains  to  blush  more  delicately. 

I  have  myself  seen  Hood  only  from  the  common  level,  but 
have  beheld  him  in  many  moods  and  phases,  when  white,  cold, 
and  stern  he  towered  rigidly  over  a  winter  landscape,  and  when 
draped  from  summit  to  base  in  a  golden-tinted  tissue  of  morn-, 
ing  mist,  through  which  he  peeped  like  a  girl  in  trying  on  a 
robe  of  yellow  gauze,— not  quite  shaken  down  on  one  side,  the 
petticoat  of  snow  showing  daintily  underpeath.  Many  are  the 
solid  old  mountain's  masquerading  airs,  and,  despite  the  dignity 
of  his  thousands  of  years,  he  sometimes  affects  the  blushes  of 
the  rose. 

To  pioneers  of  1845  and  later  Mount  Hood  is  full  of  meaning. 
The  road  over  the  range  at  its  base,  opened  that  year,  was  the 
Rubicon  which  they  passed  in  pain  and  peril.  The  most  skil- 
ful driving  was  not  skilful  enough  to  guide  the  staggering  oxen 
through  the  way  provided  by  the  road-makers,  and  the  constant 
tendency  of  a  forward  wheel  to  run  up  a  tree  on  one  side  or  the 
other  was  a  dread  to  the  drivers.  Bat  if  wagons  would  run  up 
trees  on  ascending  ground,  what  was  their  coui'se  when  they 
came  to  an  incline  of  sixty  degrees  on  the  dcsc  nding  side,  with 
a  load  urging  the  jaded  oxen  from  behind  ?  As  succeeding 
trains  widened  the  way  a  new  difficulty  arose.  It  was  better  to 
be  halted  by  a  tree  than  not  to  be  able  to  stop  at  all,  and  to  find 
one's  team  rushing  down  the  side  of  a  mountain  like  an  ava- 
lanche, to  death  and  destruction.  To  overcome  this  tendency, 
good-sized  trees  were  attached  by  chains  to  the  rear  of  the 
wagons,  the  branches  left  to  act  like  grappling-irons,  and  hold 
back  the  weight.     But  woe  to  the  unfortunate  wight  whose  im- 


M, 


"  Hi 


|i    ' 


i)    A 


TBM 


174 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


provised  brake  became  uncoupled !  The  best  ho  could  liopc  for 
in  that  ease  was  that  a  fore-wheel  would  dasli  up  a  tree.  It 
happened  sometimes  that  the  oxen  struck  their  heads  against 
a  solid  fir-trunk,  when  their  proprietor  became  suddenly'  minus 
that  pair  of  oxen,  and  plus  a  great  many  fragments  of  wagon 
and  contents.  A  well-graded  highway  now  follows  the  survey 
of  the  pioneers  of  1845,  and  conducts  the  tourist  to  Cloiid-Ctip 
Inn,  at  the  snow  line,  where  much  comfort  mr.y  be  enjoyed  for 
four  or  four  and  a  half  dollars  per  diem.  •     •  >  . 

About  centrj'Uy  situated  with  regard  to  the  Oregon  division 
of  the  Cascade  Range,  the  Three  Sisters  may  be  ascended  with- 
out difficulty  from  the  eastern  side.  Indeed,  to  get  a  well- 
formed  idea  of  the  mountains  it  is  necessary  to  behold  them 
from  this  side.  There  is  no  labor  in  travelling  over  the  pincy 
slopes  of  the  eastern  incline.  It  is  like  riding  through  intermin- 
able parks,  with  little  obstructing  undergrowth,  a  dry  soil,  and 
abundance  of  flowers,  and  occasional  small  game.  Three  or 
four  days'  easy  horseback  travel  from  The  Dalles  through  a 
country  abounding  in  natural  wonders  brings  us  to  the  foot  of 
the  Three  Sisters. 

They  stand  in  a  triangular  group,  the  base  of  the  triangle 
being  towards  the  west.  Though  perfectly  distinct  peaks,  the 
northernmost  being  highest,  they  are  connected  near  their 
base  by  lesser  intervening  elevations.  Accustomed  as  we  have 
become  to  mountains,  the  Three  Sisters  force  from  us  the  pro- 
fonndest  expressions  of  admiration  and  delight.  So  lofty,  so 
symmetrical,  so  beautifully  grouped !  Nor  are  there  wanting 
adjuncts  which  augment  the  interest  of  the  scene.  At  the  fo 
of  the  group  stands  a  single  needle  of  basalt  several  hundred 
feet  in  height,  in  its  grim,  black  hardness  looking  like  a  sentinel 
guarding  the  Olympian  heights  above. 

Our  party  prepare  to  ascend  the  north  Sister.  By  reason 
of  the  greater  general  elevation  of  the  country  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Cascade  Range,  and  the  more  gradual  slopes  also,  the 
toil  of  an  ascent  is  greatly  diminished.  By  keeping  along  a 
ridge  we  find  it  comparatively  easy  to  clamber  up.  Two  of  our 
party,  however,  decide  to  attempt  a  more  abrupt  ascent. 

As  we  course  along  our  rocky  ridge  we  watch  the  advent- 
urers on  the  snow-field.    After  climbing  over  a  sharp  slope  of 


• 


il-    t 


A  CHAT  ABOUT  OREGON   MOUNTAINS. 


175 


broken  rock,  they  como  upon  an  incline  of  nearly  eighty  degreee 
— in  fact,  the  snow-field  appears  concave  to  us — and  commence 
crawling  up  it.  By  great  exertion,  and  cutting  steps  in  the 
snow  with  their  hunting-knives,  they  reach  the  edge  of  the  first 
crevasse,  where  we  see  them  pause,  holding  on  to  the  edge  and 
looking  into  it.  They  can  proceed  no  farther.  The  crevasse  is 
fifteen  feet  across  and  hundreds  deep.  Could  they  throw  them- 
selves over,  they  must  inevitably  slide  back  into  it,  fx'ora  the 
glassy  surface  above. 

Starting  cautiously  to  return,  and  holding  back  by  striking 
their  heels  in  the  snow,  making  but  slight  impressions,  first  one, 
then  the  other,  loses  his  hold,  and  down  they  go, — swiftly, 
swiftly,  ever  more  swiftly, — darting  like  arrows  from  their  bows, 
straight  down  the  steep  incline,  towards  the  rocks  below  the 
snow-line.  The  younger  and  more  active  contrives  to  draw  his 
hunting-knife  from  its  scabbard,  and,  by  striking  it  into  the  hard 
snow,  to  check  his  speed.  What  a  grip  he  has !  I  laugh,  while 
I  am  trembling  with  excitement,  to  see  him  swing  quite  round 
the  knife-hilt,  like  a  plummet  at  the  end  of  a  string  swung  in  the 
fingers.     He  has  arrested  his  descent  in  time  to  avoid  the  rocks. 

Not  so  his  clumsier  companion,  who  comes  down — luckily, 
heels  foremost — among  the  rocky  debris  at  the  bottom.  His 
bruises,  though  many,  are  not  dangerous  ;  and  this  little  ex- 
perience teaches  our  friends  the  needful  prudence.  They  are 
content  thenceforth  to  take  the  longest  way  round,  which  is  the 
surest  way  to  the  object  of  their  desires.  After  two  or  three 
hours  of  clambering,  we  reach  the  line  of  perpetual  snow. 

Just  below  it  is  a  belt  of  cedars,  with  tops  so  flat  that  we 
walk  out  on  them  a  distance  of  twenty  feet,  either  side  their 
trunks.  Early  in  their  struggle  for  existence  their  tops  have 
been  broken  oflf  by  the  wind,  and  the  weight  of  many  winters' 
snows  has  retarded  their  upright  growth,  until  the  result  of  a 
century  of  aspiration  is  a  ludicrously  short  stump,  and  immensely 
long  and  broad  limbs.  In  this  region  we  find  a  few  stunted 
mountain  mahogany  trees,  but  are  quite  above  the  pines. 

Above  this,  in  the  ShOW,  or  rather  in  the  thin  layer  of  soil 
deposited  in  places  among  the  rocks  where  the  sun's  action  pre- 
vents the  snow  from  accumulating,  are  several  varieties  of  flower- 
ing plants  with  which  we  are  familiar ;  the  blossoms,  however. 


,'l 


i    !i 


I 


176 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


are  but  the  miniature  copies  of  their  valley  kindred.  So  fragilo, 
of  such  delicate  hues  are  they,  that  a  feeling  of  tencIernoRS  is 
inspired  by  their  lonely  position  on  this  bleak  siimmit ;  and  we 
ask  ourselves,  For  whose  eye  has  all  this  beauty  been  spread,  ago 
after  age,  where  human  footsteps  never  come?  Let  thoce  who 
believe  everything  terrestrial  was  made  for  man  search  those 
places  of  earth  where  only  God  is,  and  study  their  adornments. 

The  view  from  the  peak  of  our  mountain  is  one  long  to  be 
remembered.  To  the  north  of  us  stretches  the  Cascade  Range, 
with  its  wilderness  of  mountains,  from  six  to  eight  thousand 
feet  in  height,  overtopped  by  Mount  Jefferson  and  Mount  Hood. 
To  the  south,  the  same  wilderness  of  mountains  is  seen  over  the 
tops  of  the  other  Sisters,  with  Diamond  Peak  and  Mounts  Scott 
and  Pitt  beyond,  while  in  the  far  distance  we  fancy  we  discern 
great  Shasta. 

To  the  east  spread  away  immense  plains,  with  their  river- 
courses  marked  as  on  a  map,  and  bounded  by  the  Blue  Moun- 
tains. Just  below  is  Des  Chutes,  and  on  the  other  side  of  it, 
not  far  off,  is  the  extinct  crater  of  a  volcano,  its  remaining  walls 
being  only  two  or  three  hundred  feet  high.  All  around  it  the 
country  is  covered  with  black  cinders,  ashes,  and  scoria.  Turn- 
ing towards  the  west,  we  behold  the  lovely  Wallamet  Valley, 
with  its  numerous  small  rivers,  its  hills  and  plains,  and  beyond 
it  the  blue  wall  of  the  Coast  Mountains. 

We  resolve  to  return  to  the  pine  woods  to  camp,  and  with  to- 
morrow's dawn  to  climb  once  more  to  the  summit,  to  behold 
"  morning  on  the  mountains."  The  spectacle  compensates  for 
the  extra  toil.  When  we  arrive,  there  is  a  veil  of  mist  hanging 
between  the  valley  and  the  mountain-top.  We  know  that  they 
in  the  valley  see  nothing  of  the  summits,  while  we  of  the  sum- 
mits can  discern  nothing  below  this  floating  sea  of  vapor.  How 
beautiful  I  It  is  as  if  out  of  a  sea  of  golden-tinted  mist  are 
springing  islands  of  dark-green,  some  of  them  crowned  with 
glittering  snow,  and  overhead  a  cloudless  heaven.  With 
every  moment  some  new  and  beautiful,  but  almost  impercep- 
tible, change  comes  over  the  misty  ocean  in  which  are  bathed 
those  isles  whose  shores  are  abrupt  mountain-sides;  and,  in 
turn,  all  tints  of  gold,  rose,  amber,  violet,  float  before  our 
enchanted  eyes. 


A    CHAT   ABOUT  OREGON   MOUNTAINS. 


177 


Not  long  the  Bceno  remains.  An  August  sun  quickly  dia- 
persos  the  gossamer  t-louds,  unveiling  for  ua  the  acone  of  yester- 
day in  its  morning  Hharpnosa  of  outline,  with  high  lights  and 
deop  shadows  in  the  foreground,  and  with  a  soft,  illusory  glim- 
mer in  the  deep  distance.  We  hardly  wait  for  the  full  blaze 
of  day  on  the  picture,  preferring  to  remember  it  in  this  more 
striking  a8i)ect. 

Along  the  crests  of  the  mountains  are  frequent  lakes,  some 
of  which  occupy  old  burntout  craters ;  others  may  have  been 
formed  by  the  damming  up  of  springs  by  lava  overflows;  others 
by  a  change  in  the  elevation  of  certain  districts,  leaving  depres- 
sions to  be  filled  by  the  melting  snows  or  by  mountain  springs 
and  streams.  These  lakes  occur  generally  where  signs  of  recent 
volcanic  action  in  the  neighborhood  are  most  numerous,  as  in 
the  vicinity  of  Mount  St.  Helen,  Mount  Jefferson,  the  Three 
Sisters,  and  Diamond  Peak. 

Pumice,  cinders,  scoria,  and  volcanic  glass,  with  other  evi- 
dences of  eruption  comparatively  recent,  abound  all  along  the 
eastern  base  of  the  Cascade  Range,  and  extend  some  distance 
through  the  central  portion  of  East  Oregon.  The  traveller 
must  ever  be  amply  repaid  for  the  labor  of  exploration  by  the 
great  and  varied  wonders  which  meet  him  at  almost  every  step 
of  his  journey.  It  does  not  prejudice  a  coimtry  either,  in  ft 
practical  sense,  that  it  is  of  volanic  formation.  Such  have  been 
the  lands  where  civilization  came  to  the  greatest  perfection. 
Probably  the  east  slopes  of  the  Cascades  will  yd  be  celebrated 
in  song  as  "the  land  of  the  olive  and  vine."  It  is  cevtain 
that  grapes  and  peaches  raised  upon  this  soil  are  of  excellent 
flavor. 

The  lakes  which  are  such  a  striking  feature  of  the  Cascade 
Range  in  both  "Washington  and  Oregon  are  not  usually  of  much 
extent.  Echo  Lake,  on  Mount  St.  Helen,  is  three  miles  long  by 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  a  mile  in  width.  It  is  filled  with  trout,  and 
bordered  by  bold  shores  covered  with  evergreen  forest.  The 
character  of  the  scenery  here  is  of  a  gentler  aspect  than  in 
some  other  parts  of  tlie  mountains,  tempting  whole  families 
every  summer  to  encamp  for  two  or  three  weeks  in  this 
vicinit}'. 

On  the  contrary,  Fish  Lake,  in  the  range  east  of  Roseburg,  is 

12 


178 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


il  'I 


i:  ■  '1 


:H    I 


Bet  in  ft  deep  rim  of  frowning  rocks,  shadowing  the  brown  depths 
where  specUled  t^'oiit  disport  themselven  in  ice-cold  waters 
whicli  in  a  mile  or  two  phingo  headlong  over  a  precipice  two 
hundred  and  fifty  foot  in  lioight  between  pillars  of  basalt. 

South  of  Kirth  Lake  about  three  miles  is  Mount  Volcano, 
with  its  western  half  blown  off,  leaving  a  sheer  precipice  six 
hundred  and  fifty  feet,  descending  into  a  basin  semicircular  in 
shape,  er:.;aining  a  forest  of  fir-trees,  throe  charming  lakes  of 
small  aize,  and  several  green  marshes,  between  which  yawn 
fissures  opened  ages  ago  when  this  basin  was  a  fiery  crater. 
Many  such  scenes  have  been  discovered,  and  many  yet  await 
discovery  among  these  half-explored  mountains.  Water-falls 
abound,  and  a  very  pretty  one,  appropriately  named  Silver 
Vail,  occurs  on  a  tributarv  of  the  Klamath  River. 

Some  years  ago — it  was  just  after  the  Modoc  war — I  crossed 
the  Casc-ades  between  Ashland  and  Linkville  with  a  party,  of 
whom  the  "Sage  of  Yoncalla"  was  one.  It  wmx  an  interesting 
trip  from  every  point  of  view.  Wo  had  an  ambulance,  a  bag- 
gage-wagon, and  horses,  and  walked  or  rode  as  it  pleased  us  to 
do,  taking  tiiree  days  for  the  passage.  The  first  night  we  en- 
camped in  the  valley  of  Jenny  Crock,  from  which  we  took  our 
supper  offish,  and,  not  knowing  any  better,  I  left  my  shoes  out 
in  the  dew,  of  the  effect  of  which  1  became  unpleasantly  aware 
next  morning;  but  I  had  a  good  sleep,  quite  undisturbed  by 
grizzlies,  of  which  there  wore  not  a  few  in  the  mountains. 
Next  day  our  hunters  killed  a  deer,  and  while  we  waited  for  it 
to  be  dressed,  being  in  advance  of  the  hunters,  a  huge  brown 
bear  trotted  leisurely  across  the  track  in  fVont  of  us ;  but  the 
guns  were  behind,  and  we  quietly  watched  his  departure,  think- 
ing it  was  an  escape  on  both  sides.  That  night  we  encamped  on 
the  summit,  and  toasted  venison  on  sticks  around  a  blazing  log- 
fire.  We  told  stories,  sang  songs,  and  slept  well  afterwards. 
There  was  no  dew  to  wet  my  shoes  this  night;  but  I  was 
awakened  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  by  the  voice  of 
the  Sage,  who,  like  those  of  old,  called  upon  me  to  observe  the 
brightness  of  the  morning  star.  And  it  was  worth  the  misery 
of  being  wakened  at  such  an  hour  to  behold  the  great  golden 
clusters  sparkling  above  us, — two  or  tb-"'^  times  as  large  as 
when  seen  through  the  murky  air  of  tijf  !>:>vlands. 


T  Slii 


A   CHAT   ABOUT   OREGON   MOUNTAINS. 


170 


Ab  wo  walked  along  next  day  the  Sago  told  me  the  story 
of  the  opening  of  this  road — the  Southern  Immi:;;rant  Koad  it 
was  called — by  himself  and  others,  in  181C,  when  it  was  fuarod 
in  Oregon  that  there  might  be  a  war  with  Cireat  liritain,  and 
it  behooved  them  to  bo  surveying  out  a  track  for  the  soldiers 
of  the  United  States  to  take  in  coming  to  protect  tlie  Oregon 
settlors,  which  would  bo  safer  to  travel  than  the  Columbia  or 
Mount  Hood  rom  lie  showed  me,  too,  a  tree  near  the  cross- 

ing of  the  Klaniait.  River  where  some  of  Fremont's  exploring 
party  carved  thoir  names  in  1R43, 

Linkvillo  ^v' ,8  at  the  time  of  this  trip  but  a  few  months  old, 
and  most  of  the  settK  rs  in  Klamath  Land  had  been  driven  out 
by  fear  of  the  7Jodoc8 — most  of  those  not,  murdered.  I  was 
present  at  the  trial  of  the  Modoc  prisoners  at  Fort  Klamath, 
and  spent  some  weeks  at  the  Klamath  Indian  Agency,  visiting 
notable  places  and  studying  Indian  mythology  under  the  tutelage 
of  Captain  O.  C.  Applegate,  who  is  a  master  of  Indianology. 

But  the  crowning  pleasure  of  those  enjoyable  weeks  Avas  an 
excursion  to  a  lake  then  little  known,  but  now  famous  in  the 
Northwest.  It  was  discovered  in  1853  by  prospectors  from 
Jacksonville  looking  for  gold,  who,  deeply  impressed  by  its 
woird  beauty,  called  it  Lake  Mystery.  Subsequeatly  some 
gentlemen  from  Fort  Klamath  visited  it  and  called  it  Lake 
Majesty.  Both  these  names  were  suggested  by  the  effect  upon 
the  beholders.  But  exploration  convinced  all  that  the  great 
rocky  bowl  containing  these  beautiful  waters,  whose  rim  was 
eight  thousand  feet  above  sea-level,  was  an  immonse  crater,  egg- 
shaped  in  form,  and  six  by  seven  miles  in  extent  of  surface. 
This  discovery  changed  the  name  to  Crater  Lake,  which  it  is 
now  called. 

According  to  the  belief  of  scientists  and  other  observers,  thero 
once  stood  hero  a  volcano  higher  by  several  thousand  feet  than 
any  existing  mountain,  the  angle  of  the  remaining  mass  carry- 
ing an  imagiaavy  line  to  a  height  of  thirty  thousand  feet.  As 
surveyed  by  government  officei-s  the  depth  of  the  crater  is  four 
thousand  feet,  and  of  the  water,  two  thousand  feet  over  a  large 
extent  of  the  bottom,  the  shallowest  part  away  from  the  cliffs 
being  fifteen  hundred  feet.  There  is  a  crater  within  the  crater, 
rising  in  a  hollow  cone  above  the  water  eight  hundred  and 


fF 


>;  » 


.'H 


180 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


forty-fivo  feet,  called  Wizard  Island,  and  another  similar  crater 
fathoms  deep  bcnetilh  the  lake's  surface. 

The  military  road  from  Jacksonville  to  Fort  Klamath  runs 
within  about  four  miles  of  the  lakC;  and  is  the  route  usually 
taken  by  touiists.  But  the  approach  from  the  east  side  is 
much  more  easy,  being  a  conifortable  afternoon's  drive  from 
the  Agency  to  camp  at  the  turning-off  point.  Our  party  found 
bear  tracks  close  to  camp,  and  deer-tracks  in  the  a«hes  of  our 
burnt-out  fire  when  we  arose  from  our  mosquito  tormented 
slumbers.  Our  ambulance  was  taken  to  the  summit,  although 
we  walked  a  good  ])art  of  the  four  miles,  for  the  ground  was 
very  lumpy  with  rocks  and  frozen  snowdrifts  which  July  suns 
had  failed  to  liquefy,  and  which,  to  them  unaccountable,  phenom- 
enon kept  our  mules  in  a  greatly  agitated  state  of  nerves. 

On  arriving  at  the  summit  we  found  the  earth  light  and 
ashen,  diversified  by  patches  of  snow,  and  by  other  patches  of 
alpine  flowei-s,  some  of  which  were  very  pretty  in  form  and 
color.  The  air  was  bright  and  mild ;  we  had  left  the  forest 
behind  us ;  there  was  nothing  anywhere  about  more  elevated 
than  our  position,  nor  any  living  thing  anywhere  near  us.  We 
were  apparently  on  the  highest  point  of  the  earth,  for  there 
was  nothing  to  look  up  to,  and  it  would  not  have  surprised  me 
to  have  been  whirled  off  into  space.  The  solitude  of  the  situation 
was  thrilling. 

One  cannot,  owing  toi  the  sunken  position  of  the  lake,  discover 
it  until  close  upon  its  rim,  and  I  say  here,  without  exaggeration, 
that  no  pen  can  reproduce  its  image,  no  picture  be  painted  to 
do  it  justice ;  nor  can  it,  for  obvious  reasons,  bo  satisfactorily 
photographed.  At  the  first  view  a  dead  silence  fell  upon  our 
party.  A  choking  sensation  arose  in  our  throats,  and  tears 
flowed  over  our  cheeks.  I  do  not  pretend  to  analyze  the  emo- 
tion, but,  if  I  were  to  endeavor  to  compare  it  with  anything  I 
ever  read,  I  should  say  it  must  be  such  a  feeling  which  causes 
the  Cherubim  to  veil  their  faces  before  God.  To  me  it  was  a 
revelation.* 


*  That  this  is  not  iin  uncommon  effect  of  the  first  view  of  Crater  Lake  is 
shown  by  Captain  0.  E.  Button's  report  of  the  survey,  in  which  he  says, 
"  It  was  ttmching  to  see  the  worthy  but  untutored  people  who  had  ridden  a 
hundred  miles  in  freight-wagons  to  behold  it,  vainly  striving  to  keep  back 


A  CHAT  ABOUT  OREGON  MOUNTAINS. 


181 


The  water  of  Crater  Lake  is  of  the  loveliest  blue  imaginable 
in  the  P'lnlight,  and  a  deep  indigo  in  the  shadows  of  the  cliffs. 
It  mirrors  the  walls  encircling  it  accurately  and  minutely.  It 
has  no  well-like  appearance  because  it  is  too  large  to  suggest  it, 
yet  a  wutor-fowl  on  its  surface  could  not  be  discovered  by  the 
naked  eye,  so  far  below  us  is  it.  It  impresses  one  as  having 
been  made  for  the  Creator's  eye  only,  and  we  cannot  associate 
it  with  our  human  affairs.  It  is  a  font  of  the  gods,  wherein  our 
souls  are  baptized  anew  into  their  primal  purity  and  peace. 

The  Indians,  who  are  easily  impressed  by  the  unusual  as  well 
as  the  sublime  in  nature,  hold  Crater  Lake  in  gi-eat  awe.  They 
have  a  legend  running  thiswise  :  A  Klamath  hunting-party  camo 
upon  it  unexpected!}',  and  regarded  it  with  silent  foar,  for  they 
knew  at  once  that  the  Great  Spirit  dwelt  here,  and  that  they 
had  no  business  with  him  ;  therefore  they  silently  retraced  their 
stei:>s  down  the  mountain,  and  made  a  distant  camp.  But  o  ^'^ 
of  their  braves  ventured  to  return,  and  passed  the  night  on  the 
rim  of  the  lake.  This  he  did  for  several  successive  nights, 
during  which  he  heard  strange  noises  and  voices  coming  from 
the  waters.  Having  familiarized  himself  after  some  months  of 
venturing  to  visit  the  lake,  he  descended  to  the  water  and  bathed 
in  it,  repeating  this  teat  many  times,  thereby  gaining  the  power 
to  see  spirits,  and  receiving  supernatural  strength.  This  led 
others  to  imitate  his  example,  who  likewise  received  great 
strength.  But  at  length  the  first  brave  was  impelled  to  kill  a 
monster  which  he  met  with  in  the  water,  and  for  this  act  was 
set  upon  by  llaos  or  water-sprites,  taken  to  the  top  of  the  cliffs, 
torn  into  small  pieces,  and  thrown  back  into  the  lake  to  be  de- 
voured. Such-  they  since  believe,  will  be  the  fate  of  any  Kla- 
math who  ventures  even  to  look  upon  this  hike.  A  rock  on  the 
northern  side  of  the  lake  has  been  named  Llaos  Rock,  in  memory 
of  this  superstition.  Other  points  are  named  after  persons  and 
resemblances,  as  Dutton  Cliff,  Cathedral  llock,  Phantom  Ship, 
and — I  mention  it  with  due  rhodesty — Victor  Rock,  in  compli- 
ment to  my  early  visits  to  this  then  almost  unknown  wonder, 


V, 


tears  as  they  poured  forth  excluniations  of  wonder  Mid  joy  akin  to  pain. 
Nor  was  it  less  so  to  see  so  cultivated  and  learned  a  man  as  my  companion 
hai-dly  able  to  command  himself  to  speak  with  his  customary  calmness. " 


i; 


'A    i 


\'H  1: 


182 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


and  a  trifling  feut  of  daring  performed  to  get  a  view  of  a  beau- 
tiful reflection  under  this  overhanging  stone  parapet. 

The  approach  to  the  lake  's  from  the  west  or  northwest.  To 
the  right  of  the  approach  is  a  small  grove  of  spruce-trees  of 
a  good  hei<;ht,  in  a  sort  of  sink  with  piled-up  rocks  behind  it, 
and  on  the  south,  inside  the  rim,  are  trees  growing  among  the 
rocks  for  some  distance,  as  also  on  Wizard  Island,  which  has  a 
belt  of  trees  around  its  base  ;  but  for  the  most  part  there  is  no 
vegetation  shown  in  this  locality. 

Crater  Lake  lies  on  a  piano  made  by  cutting  oft'  the  top  of  a 
cone,  its  west  side  embedded  in  the  range,  and  its  east  and  south 
sides  rising  clear  from  the  plain  eight  thousand  feet  below.  A 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  lake  one  may  stand  on  the  edge  of 
the  plane  before  mentioned  and  look  over  the  Klamath  Valley, 
seeing  distinctly  the  settlements  fifty  miles  away.  JJforth  of 
the  lake  is  only  a  jumble  of  mountains,  with  Mount  Scott  and 
Diamond  Peak  rising  more  prominent  than  their  neighbors. 

Congress,  in  January,  1886,  set  aside  Crater  Lake  and  a  body 
of  land  thirty  miles  long  by  twelve  miles  wide  for  a  national 
park,  Oregon  agreeing  to  preserve  and  keep  it  for  the  pleasure 
of  the  people  for  all  time.  The  boat  used  by  Captain  Dutton  in 
his  survey  still  remains  at  the  lake,  and  as  tourists  multiply 
other  means  of  viewing  it  in  its  whole  extent  will  be  furnished. 

The  railway  tourist  would  most  naturally  leave  the  train  at 
Medford,  taking  the  old  road  to  Fort  Klamath  and  returning 
the  same  way.  Eogue  Eiver  rises  in  the  range  near  Crater 
Lake,  flowing  for  sonic  distance  through  a  deep  caiion  along 
the  edge  of  which  the  road  runs. 

Even  here  are  evidences  of  the  forces  which  have  rent 
the  rocks  asunder,  as  well  as  of  the  lapse  of  time  which  has 
assisted  the  elements  to  mould  and  carve  them  into  fantastic 
shapes.  Some  distance  off  the  road,  we  were  told,  is  a  locality 
where  blocks  of  pumice  as  "  big  as  a  meeting-house"  may  be 
seen,  which  must  have  been  produced  in  the  furnace  of  the 
great  dead  volcano  to  the  east.  Li  one  place  Ilogue  River  has 
a  foamy  passage  through  a  narrow  gorge  called  The  Dalles,  bo- 
low  which  it  widens  out  in  a  series  of  rapids,  after  which  it 
gathers  its  waters  for  a  plunge  over  a  sheer  precipice  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty -six  feet  perpendicular.    The  mountains,  too,  are 


A  CHAT  ABOUT  OBEGO.V   MOUNTA'NS. 


183 


delightful,  being  covered  with  a  grand  forest  of  the  noble  Bugar- 
pino  irtermingled  with  other  trees  of  the  same  family,  and  with 
the  shrubby  chinquapin,  laurel,  aider,  and  maple,  according  to 
locality  or  altitude.  The  air  is  bright,  clear,  and  buoyant, 
almost  intoxicating  in  its  vivifying  quality,  and  sweet  with  the 
balsamic  odor  of  the  Pinus  LamberUna.  Wherever  there  is  an 
opening  to  the  sun  on  the  hill -sides,  there  blossoms  the  rhodo- 
dendron, the  mock-orange,  the  Spiraea  ariafolia,  and  other  orna- 
mental shrubs.  Where  the  dust  of  the  road  has  lain  undisturbed 
trom  the  day  before,  it  is  full  of  prints  of  tiny  feet  of  birds  and 
other  timid  creatures  which  shun  our  observation  by  day,  but 
run  about  on  their  errands  during  the  night  or  early  morning. 

Desce'iding  to  the  valley,  the  hi>iiorical  Table  Eock,  where 
General  Joseph  Lane  fought  the  Mogue  Eiver  Indians  in  1853,. 
becomes  an  object  of  interest.  It  is  simply  a  high  perpendicular 
bluff  overlooking  Rogue  Eiver, — the  Gibraltar  of  the  Indians  in 
their  wars.  It  brings  us  back  to  the  contemplation  of  humanity 
in  phases  ill  in  accord  with  our  late  impressions  of  nature.  It 
is  a  pity  that  the  former  should  ever  obliterate  the  latter. 


I 


I  know  how,  if  I  were  a  painter,  I  should  personify  the  young 
giant  Oregon.  Lithe,  strong,  beautiful  should  ho  be,  with  empire 
written  on  his  brow,  and  power  tempered  by  mildness  beaming 
from  his  eyes.  Of  fair  complexion  he,  with  tawny  blonde  hair 
and  curling  golden  beard.  His  robe  should  be  of  royal  purple 
embroidered  with  wheat-ears,  and  his  crown  of  burnished  gold. 
His  throne  should  be  among  the  rugged  mountains,  with  a  lake 
at  his  feet,  rolling  yellow  plains  on  one  hand,  and  smiling  green 
valleys  on  the  other.  His  sceptre,  shaped  like  the  tapering  pine, 
should  be  of  silver,  set  with  opals,  emeralds,  and  diamonds. 
On  his  right  should  roll  the  magnificent  Columbia,  to  which 
ships  in  the  distance  should  seek  entrance;  and  over  his  shoul- 
der the  white  crest  of  Mouut  Hood  stand  blushing  in  a  rosy 
sunset. 


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li^il    I 


184 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


CHAPTER     XIII. 
THE    GEOLOGICAL    FORMATION    OF    OREGON    AND    WASHINGTON. 

According  to  Mr.  Condon,  formerly  Stale  goologiat,  the  Rocky 
Mountains  once  formed  the  western  breakwater  of  the  continent, 
as  the  Coast  Mountains  now  do.  They  were  forced  up  by  the 
subsidence  of  the  ocean  bottom,  and  the  consequent  upfolding 
of  the  earth's  crust.  The  upheaval  occurred  near  the  shore-line, 
but  left  a  narrow  strip  of  the  old  sea-bed  east  of  the  Rocky 
Range ;  enough  to  prove  that  the  upheavel  occurred  in  the 
Cretaceous  period.  A  large  body  of  salt  water  was  thus  isolated, 
wh  h  gradually,  by  natural  drainage,  became  brackish  only,  and 
finally  quite  fresh.  This  change  is  also  proved  by  the  nature  of 
the  deposits. 

After  a  long  interval  of  quiet,  another  upheaval  took  place, 
occasioned,  like  the  first,  by  a  subsidence  of  the  ocoan-bed.  At 
this  second  folding  of  the  earth's  crust,  the  Cascades  and  Blue 
Mountains  were  forced  up,  and  once  moi*e  a  large  body  of  sea- 
water  was  divided  off  from  the  ocean,  to  form  great  salt  lakes, 
which  gradually  became  fresh.  The  Blue  Mountains  formed  an 
island,  separating  the  northern  portion  of  these  waters  from  the 
southern,  which  were  drained  respectively  by  the  Columbia  and 
the  Colorado  Rivers;  but  not  until  b}'  deposits  of  various  char- 
acter did  the  bottoms  of  these  basins  become  sufficiently  ele     '  d. 

In  like  manner,  the  later  upheaval  of  the  Coast  Range  caused 
to  be  enclosed  between  these  mountains  and  the  Cascade  Range 
another  immense  body  of  water,  which  became  fresh  in  time 
like  the  older  lakes,  and  with  the  gradual  elevation  of  the  sedi- 
mentary deposits  was  finally  drained  off  like  them.  That  the 
dates  of  the  formation  of  these  lakes  were  widely  separated  is 
evident  from  the  fossils  of  each,  which  indicate  the  geologic 
period  to  which  they  belonged — the  deposits  of  the  Wallamet 
Yalley  being  the  mo.st  recent. 

In  the  mean  time  vegetable  and  animal  life  flourished  along 
the  shores  of  these  inland  seas  or  lakes.  There  are  cafions  in 
East  Oregon  fifteen  hundred  feet  in  depth,  whose  walls  present  a 


GEOLOGY   OF  OREGON   AND   WASHINGTON. 


186 


complete  and  undisturbed  record  of  the  geologic  periods.  First 
of  all  in  this  record  is  the  old  ocean-bed  of  the  Cretaceous 
period,  teeming  with  myriads  of  marine  shells,  perfectly  pre- 
served in  form,  though  frequently  containing,  as  a  mould,  a 
filling  of  chalcedony  or  calcareous  spar,  making  specimens  of 
the  highest  beauty. 

Next  above  the  salt-water  deposits  come  those  of  the  earlier 
Tertiary  periods.  In  this  division  we  find  the  leaf  impressions 
of  those  grand  trees  that  flourished  during  ages  of  tropical 
warmth  and  moisture, — palms,  yew-trees,  immense  ferns.  In 
some  places  an  oak-leaf  or  an  acorn-cup  has  left  its  print  in  the 
rocks. 

Contemporaneous  witAi  the  palms  and  ferns  were  two  species 
of  rhinoceros,  and  three  or  four  species  of  Oreodon,  an  animal 
allied  in  some  things  to  the  camel  and  in  others  to  the  tapir 
family.  Anothei-  animal  of  a  tapir-lilie  appearance,  but  called 
by  geologists  Lophiodon,  also  lived  during  this  period,  and  left 
his  bones  in  the  muddy  lake  margins  to  become  part  of  earth's 
history.  Also  a  peccary  of  large  size,  and  an  animal  bearing 
some  resemblance  to  the  horse,  called  the  Anchitheriitm, — found 
also  in  France  and  in  the  Mauvaises  Terres  of  Nebraska.  The 
hipparion,  or  small  three-toed  horse,  and  a  great  number  of 
cat-like,  dog-like,  and  hyena-like  animals,  besides  rabbits  and 
squirrel-like  creatures,  belonged  to  this  period,  as  their  fossilized 
remains  demonstrate. 

Following  this  age  was  one  of  volcanic  action  and  the  out- 
pouring of  immense  quantities  of  ash js  and  lava.  By  the  lava- 
streams  issuing  from  the  Blue  Mountains  new  barriers  were 
raised,  dividing  the  northern  portion  of  the  great  lake  of  East 
Oregon  more  completely  from  the  southern,  which,  by  reason  of 
superior  drainage,  was  the  first  to  become  drj'  land.  The  lake 
on  the  northern  side  of  the  Blue  Mountains,  remaining  longest 
a  lake,  continued  to  receive  the  drift  of  its  shores  for  a  longer 
period,  and  consequently  ofl'ers  a  more  perfect  record  of  the 
changes  which  took  place  through  all  the  Tertiary  periods. 
Several  of  the  strata  formed  in  this  lake  are  of  pure  volcanic 
ashes,  still  rough  as  pumice  stone  to  the  touch. 

Thus  this  Middle  Tertiary  period  was  closed  in  violence. 
Volcanic  fire,  earthquake-shocks,  and  molten,  lava  destroyed 


i    1 

1 


:rlT 


186 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


Ill 


*\ 


ill: 


■ 


and  blotted  out  all  forms  of  vegetable  and  animal  life.  The 
ages  roll  on,  and  once  more  living  forms  of  plant  and  animal 
haunt  the  shores  of  these  shallowing  lakes.  The  oak,  the  yew, 
the  willow,  have  left  their  prints  in  the  sedimentary  rocks,  and 
the  bones  of  new  creations  of  animal  life,  such  as  the  camel 
and  the  horse,  accompany  them.  But  these,  too,  in  turn  suffer 
extinction  by  violence, — the  whole  country  being  covered  more 
than  thirty  feet  deep  in  volcanic  ashes.  Indeed,  deposits  of 
volcanic  ashes  exist  in  East  Oregon  which  arc  one  hundred  feet 
in  depth. 

After  a  long  night  of  geological  darkness,  during  which  there 
seems  to  have  been  a  subsidence  of  earthquake  and  volcanic 
outflow,  life  once  more  appears  upon  this  portion  of  the  eai'th 
in  the  forms  of  elephant,  ox,  horse,  and  elk,  accompanied  by 
such  vegetable  forms  as  were  suitable  for  their  subsistence. 
Still  another  period  of  death  was  to  ensue  before  the  frame- 
work of  the  present  Oregon  was  perfected.  And  this  time  the 
desolation  appears  not  to  have  come  from  fire,  but  from  frost 
and  flood.'  How  long  it  continued,  or  what  mighty  seas  of  ice 
moved  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  marking  the  hardest  rock 
with  glacial  abrasion,  none  can  tell.  But  to  have  so  clearly 
written  in  the  rocks  of  Oregon  the  geologic  history  of  at  least 
one  continent,  is  most  interesting  to  scientist  and  amateur  alike. 
So  far  as  can  be  seen,  the  Columbia  Eiver  Valley  must  become 
the  most  desirable  field  for  the  st'  Jont  of  the  earth's  history, 
and  also  of  research  into  the  record  of  prehistoric  man.  For 
here,  somewhere  hidden  in  these  ancient  pages  of  rock,  must 
the  beginning  of  man's  history  be  preserved,  like  that  of  God's 
other  creatures,  in  tablets  of  stone. 

From  the  brief  sketch  of  Oregon's  geologic  history  which  has 
been  given  it  will  appear  what  the  agency  has  been  of  those 
glistening  white  snow-peaks — Mounts  Hood,  St.  Helen,  Adams, 
Jefferson,  and  all  the  rest — in  forming  the  Oregon  and  Washing- 
ton of  to-day.  Time  was  when  these  mountains  belched  forth 
n.olten  lava,  and  rained  hot  ashes  over  many  miles  of  country 
on  either  side.  For  some  reason — perhaps  the  diiection  of  the 
prevailing  v  ,nds — the  ashes  were  chiefly  deposited  on  the  east 
side  of  f  range.  The  volcanoes  themselves,  in  general,  stand 
on  the  east  side  of  the  summit  of  the  range.    A  covering  of 


GEOLOGY   OF  OKEGON   AND   WASHINGTON. 


187 


basaltic  rock  conceals  from  sight  the  record  we  have  referred 
to,  except  where  by  the  action  of  water  the  pages  of  the  book 
have  been  cut  through  from  cover  to  cover — from  ocean-bed  to 
overlying  basalt. 

For  w  distance  of  sixty  miles  east  of  Dalles  this  last  overflow 
may  be  traced,  growing  thinner  and  thinner,  until  it  becomes  a 
mere  capping  on  the  hills.  Underneath  it  all  is  sedimentary, 
except  the  interruptions,  several  in  number,  of  the  older  out- 
flows of  lava.  It  is  owing  to  the  large  extent  to  which  volcanic 
ash  enters  into  the  composition  of  the  earth  and  soil  of  this 
portion  of  Oregon  and  Washington  that  both  earth  and  water 
are  so  often  strongly  alkaline.  It  forms  a  soil  inexhaustible  in 
fertility,  and  particularly  adapted  to  the  growth  of  cereals  j  but, 
owing  to  its  elevation,  and  to  the  depth  of  the  stream  below  the 
surface,  together  with  a  dry  climate,  is  difficult  of  adaptation 
to  the  uses  of  the  agriculturist. 

Mr.  J.  Wessen,  in  an  article  published  some  years  since  in  the 
Overland  Monthly^  thus  speaks  of  the  geological  formation  of 
the  high  plateaux  and  the  lake  region  of  Southeastern  Oregon : 

"  Coming  from  the  northeast,  the  Blue  Eange  of  Oregon,  the 
Cascade  Eange  from  the  north,  and  the  Sierra  from  the  south, 
blend  into  or  form  a  vast  steppe  or  table-land  of  lava  and  sage- 
fields,  interspersed  with  a  score  of  lakes,  in  size  varying  from 
five  to  forty  miles  in  length,  and  proportionate  width.  This  high 
separating  belt  of  land  and  water  commences  at  the  Owyhee 
River  and  extends  westward  to  the  mountains,  running  at  right 
angles  to  the  ocean — a  length  of  three  hundred  miles,  and  an 
avei'age  breadth  of  one  hundred  and  fifty.  Thei'e  are  three 
distinct  chains  of  lakes  in  this  district :  The  eastern,  known  as 
the  Warner,  inclusive  of  the  Harney  and  Malheur.  The  second 
chain  of  lakes  may  be  called  the  Goose  Lake,  including  its 
northern  links, — Albert,  Silver,  and  other  smaller  lakes.  Goose 
Lak3  nestles  in  the  extreme  north  end  of  the  Sierra,  and  is 
the  source  of  Pitt  Eiver,  the  main  branch  of  the  Sacramento. 
This  fact  has  been  disputed,  owing,  perhaps,  to  the  outlet  being 
underground  in  the  drier  seasons.  The  third  and  last,  and  larger 
of  the  several  chains,  ij  the  Klamath,  embracing  Wright  and 
Rhett  Laket;,  farther  south.  The  Warner  Lakes  string  along 
more  like  a  river;  and  the  rapid  current,  setting  north  at  all 


188 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


times,  is  suggestive  that  this  lino  of  water  is  really  the  outcrop- 
ping of  a  long,  subterranean  stream.  The  amount  of  water  is 
apparently  more  than  the  natural  drainage  of  the  country  adja- 
cent; and  the  outline  of  a  great  river  channel  is  distinctly  trace- 
able to  the  lakes  of  Harney  and  Malheur.  The  latter,  however, 
are  strongly  tinctured  with  the  alkaline  soil  surrounding  them." 

Thus  does  the  observing  traveller  confirm  the  views  of  the 
student  of  geological  science.  The  southern  half  of  East  Ore- 
gon retains  yet  some  of  the  features  of  the  undrained  lake  dis- 
tricts of  Oregon  and  Washington. 

That  portion  of  Oregon  and  Washington  which  lies  west  of 
the  Cascades  is  part  of  a  great  trough,  extending  from  the 
Straits  of  Puca  to  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco.  It  is  not,  like 
East  Oregon,  elevated  above  the  original  sea-bed  by  immense 
deposits  of  volcanic  matter ;  but  its  older  rocks  are  buried  from 
sight  by  deposits  of  the  Tertiary  and  post-Tertiary  periods. 

There  is  a  curious  glimpse  into  the  ])rehistorie  record  of  man 
given  b}'  the  fossils  of  the  Wallamot  Valley.  For  instance,  the 
teeth  and  tusks  of  the  elephant  have  been  found  in  Linn,  Polk, 
and  Clackamas  Counties,  at  no  great  depth  below  the  surface, — 
as  in  three  instances  they  were  discovered  by  men  engaged  in 
digging  mill-races,  probably  from  eight  to  twelve  feet  in  depth. 
Side  by  side  with  this  fact  is  the  one  that  at  a  similar  depth 
some  rude  stone  carvings  have  been  discovered,  biu'ied  in  the 
alluvial  soil  of  the  Lower  Wallamet,  about  two  ;  lilcs  above  its 
junction  with  the  Columbia,  in  Columbia  Coui.ty.  Sti-angcr 
still,  there  has  been  discovered  at  a  place  just  at  the  northern 
end  of  Multnomah  County,  the  remains  of  a  camp-firn,  with  the 
half-burnt  brands  lying  in  position,  as  if  the  fire  had  but  just 
gone  out,  and  buried  under  twenty-seven  feet  of  alluvial  deposit. 
Equally  curious  is  the  fact  that  in  the  Nehalom  Valle}-,  eight 
miles  back  from  the  coast,  and  twenty-five  feet  below  the  sur- 
face, in  a  place  where  there  is  no  suggestion  even  of  a  possible 
land-slide,  was  lately  discovered  a  large  knifo  of  pure  copper, 
with  a  stone  handle.  Here  is  a  souvenir  of  the  stone  and  copper 
age  !  Shall  we  ever  be  able  to  collect  any  facts  concerning  these 
ancient  Oregonians?  The  paleontologists  have  here  a  splendid 
field  to  delve  in. 

The  work  of  the  volcanoes  is  also  very  evident  in  West  Ore- 


GEOIX)GY   OP  OREQOX  AND    WASIIINQTON. 


189 


gon.  The  vnlloy  of  the  Lower  Columbia,  iii  pariiciihir,  revealu 
the  immense  overflows  of  lava  in  its  forms  of  basaltic  rock.  In 
numerous  places  it  occurs  in  solid  masses  of  many  feet  in  thick- 
ness ;  in  others  it  has  assumed  the  columnar  form  ;  and  in  many 
more  it  is  broken  into  sharply  angular  fragments,  mixed  with 
earth.  The  fracture  in  the  latter  case  is  foliated, — every  fresh 
cleavage  showing  what  appears  like  the  impression  of  palm- 
leaves.  The  most  interesting  form  of  bas  It  occurs  in  some 
columns  in  the  high  river-banks  ^ust  below  the  town  of  St.  Helen. 
These  columns  have  been  brought  to  view  by  the  gradual  process 
of  denudation ;  and  now  project  a  dozen  feet  or  so  of  their  tops 
from  the  incline  of  the  high  bluffs.  They  consist  of  uniform 
blocks,  of  about  ten  inches  in  thickness,  having  six  sides, — laid 
one  above  another  so  as  to  appear  like  a  solid  pillar.  But  their 
great  peculiarity  is  that  each  individual  block  has  a  similar-sized 
chip  off  the  lower  sid  on  its  northwest  corner  or  angle.  With 
this  exception  the  blocks  are  flat.  Occasionally  one  gets  thrown 
off,  and  so  the  columns  never  appear  at  any  great  height  above 
the  earth;  but  their  fragments  strew  the  I'iver  bank  for  a  long 
distance. 

This  basaltic  outflow  evidently  came  from  Mount  St.  Helen. 
On  any  of  the  sand-bars  in  the  Lewis  or  the  Cathlapootle 
River,  whii.'h  debouches  into  the  Columbia  on  the  opposite  .side, 
are  to  be  found  water- rolled  fragments  of  pumice-stone  in  abun- 
dance; and  there  are  seasons  of  high  water  which  bring  down 
from  Mount  St.  Helen  by  some  of  its  streams — the  Cowlitz  in 
particular — so  much  white  volcanic  ash  as  to  render  the  water 
milky  in  its  appearance.  It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that,  while 
on  the  Oregon  side  the  basalt  covers  every  stratified  rock  or 
sedimentary  deposit,  on  the  Washington  side  the  hills  are  im- 
mense deposits  of  coarse  gravel  or  sand  and  water-rolled  stones. 

About  in  the  central  portion  of  the  Wallaraot  Valley  are  some 
gravel-beds  of  no  great  thickness ;  while  in  Washington,  along  the 
Columbia  and  in  the  Puget  Sound  i-egion,  the  soil  is  gravelly  to 
an  extent  which  renders  it  almost  unfit  for  cultivation.  Did  the 
facilities  which  the  sound  offered  for  drainage  prevent  the  deposit 
of  soil-making  matter  during  the  period  of  its  submergence? 

There  are  evidences,  in  the  elevated  beaches  of  the  Oregon 
and  Washington  coast,  of  great  changes  of  water  level  over 


i 

:  h 

0 


190 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


that  portion  of  these  countines  west  of  the  Cascades.  At  Shoal- 
water  Bay,  for  instance,  where  the  action  of  the  surf  has  under- 
mined large  portions  of  the  bluff  shore,  breaking  it  otf,  there 
are,  exposed  to  the  eye  of  any  observer,  vertical  sections  of 
sedimentary  deposit  one  hundred  feet  above  the  present  sea- 
level.  Mixed  with  this  deposit,  and  sometimes  occui-ring  in 
beds,  are  vast  numbers  of  sea-shella,  of  the  kinds  now  common 
to  our  oceans.  The  presence  of  oyster,  clam,  and  other  shells, 
only  found  in  shallow  water ;  as  also  of  trunks  of  trees,  leaves, 
seeds,  and  cones, — their  forms  preserved  unbroken, — proves 
these  fossils  to  have  been  deposited  quietly  in  water  of  no  i^reat 
depth,  and  to  have  remained  undisturbed  since.  Granting  this 
apparent  fact,  the  waters  in  Avhich  they  were  deposited  must 
have  stood  more  than  a  hundred  feet  higher  than  the  present 
level  of  the  ocean,  or  enough  higher  than  the  highest  of  these 
deposits  to  have  sufficiently  covered  them. 

•Mr.  Condon's  theory,  to  which  reference  has  already  been 
made,  supposes  what  is  now  the  Wallamet  Valley  to  have  been 
the  basin  of  a  largo  body  of  water,  to  which,  in  an  article  in 
the  Overland  Monthly,  of  November,  1871,  he  gives  the  name  of 
the  Wallamet  Sound.  The  conclusion  of  that  article  has  this 
interesting  summing  up  : 

"  And  now,  with  our  amended  theory  in  mind,  as  a  meai=<uring- 
rod,  let  us  retrace  our  steps  to  the  lower  country, — the  Wallamet 
Sound  of  the  olden  time.  Let  the  fall  of  the  Columbia  Eiver, 
from  this  lake-shore  east  of  the  Cascf.de  Mountains  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Wallamet  Eiver,  be  stated  at  eighty  feet.  Our  fossil  re- 
mains on  this  lake-shore  are  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above 
the  present  level  of  its  waters,  making  a  total  of  three  hundred 
and  thirty  feet  as  the  depth  of  those  waters  above  the  present 
surface  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wallamet  Eiver.  How  naturally 
one  looks  to  the  currents  of  such  a  vast  body  of  water  as  the 
agency  competent  to  the  hoaping  up  of  that  long,  sandy  ridge, 
one  hundred  feet  high,  through  which  the  river  has  cut  its  way 
at  Swan  Island,  north  of  Portland.  But  let  us  follow  it  still 
farther  inland.  Over  where  Portland  now  stands,  these  waters 
were  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  deep ;  over  Salem,  one 
hundred  and  sixty-five  feet;  over  Albany,  one  hundred  and  fif- 
teen feet ;  over  Tualatin  Plains,  one  hundred  and  forty-five  feet ; 


GEOLOGY   OF   OREGON   AND   WASHINGTON. 


191 


over  Lafayette,  one  hundred  and  sovont}'^  feet.  A  narrow  strait, 
over  the  present  valley  of  the  Tualatin  River,  ten  or  twelve 
miles  in  length,  opened  westward  upon  a  broad,  beautiful  bay, 
extending  over  the  present  sites  of  Ilillsboro'  and  Forest  Grove, 
to  Gale's  Peak,  among  the  foot-hills  of  the  Coast  Range.  The 
subsoil  of  the  fine  farms  of  that  rich  agricultural  region  is  itself 
the  muddy  sediment  of  that  bay.  Farther  south,  over  the  cen- 
tral portion  of  the  present  valley,  and  lying  obliquely  across  the 
widest  part  of  that  Wallumct  Sound,  there  arose  above  those 
waters  an  elevated  island.  It  extended  from  a  point  south  of 
Lafayette  to  one  near  Salem,  and  must  have  formed  a  fine  cen- 
tral object  in  the  scene.  Three  or  four  volcanic  islands  extended, 
in  an  irregular  semicircle,  where  Linn  County  now  is;  and  the 
islands  of  those  waters  are  the  Buttes  of  to-dav — Knox's,  Peter- 
son's,  and  Ward's.  One  standing  on  the  summit  of  either  of 
these  Buttes,  with  the  suggestions  of  these  pages  before  him, 
could  so  easily  and  vividly  imagine  those  waters  recalled,  as  to 
almost  persuade  himself  he  heard  the  murmuring  of  their  ripples 
at  his  feet — so  sea-like,  the  extended  plain  around  him — so  shore- 
like, that  line  of  hills,  from  Mary's  Peak,  on  the  west,  to  Spencer's 
Butte,  on  the  south,  and  only  lost,  on  the  east,  among  the  intri- 
cate windings  of  extended  slopes  among  the  foot-hills  of  the 
Cascades.  How  natural  juld  aeom  to  him  this  restoration  of 
one  of  geology's  yesterdays  I 

"The  shores  of  that  fine  old  Wallamet  Sound  teemed  with 
the  life  of  the  period.  It  is  marvellous  that  so  few  excavations 
in  the  Wallamet  Valley  have  failed  to  uncover  some  of  these 
relics  of  the  past.  Bones,  teeth,  and  tusks,  proving  a  wide 
range  of  animal  life,  are  often  found  in  ditches,  mill-races, 
crumbling  cliffs,  and  other  exposures  of  the  sediments  of  those 
waters,  and  often  within  a  few  feet  of  the  surface.  Did  man, 
too,  live  there  then  ?  The  world  feels  an  increasing  interest  in 
facts  that  tend  to  solve  the  doubts  that  cluster  around  this  natural 
inquiiy.  A  few  more  mill-races  dug,  a  few  more  excavations  of 
winter  floods,  more  careful  search  where  mountain  streams 
wash  their  trophies  to  their  burial  under  still  waters,  and  this 
question  may  be  set  at  rest,  as  regards  that  Wallamet  Sound. 
Oregon  does  not  answer  it  yet." 

Washington,  being  formed  by  the  same  forces  and  at  the  same 


.'! 


I  "^ 


192 


ATLANTIS    ARIHKN. 


I     - 


H 


period,  prcsonts  in  tho  Cttscaclo  Raii^o,  which  liividos  it  into  tJiist 
and  west  halves,  the  same  gcnoral  features  found  south  of  tho 
CoUnnbia  Rivor.  It  is  noticeable,  however,  that  there  is  a  great 
thickness  of  gravel-beds  and  sandy  doposits  on  the  north  MJdo 
of  this  boundary,  not  to  bo  found  south  of  it.  All  along  Puget 
Sound  to  tho  Fuca  Strait  this  is  apparent,  but  when  we  come 
to  the  archipelago  in  tlie  mouth  of  the  strait,  and  north  for 
some  distance,  tho  upheavals  are  basaltic,  with  rounded,  dome- 
like peaks. 

The  coast  of  tho  Olympic  peninsula  bordering  on  tho  strait 
is  also  basaltic,  uud  (his  formation  extends  to  and  through 
the  foot-hills  of  the  Coast  Range  to  Mount  Olympus.  Here 
the  formation  changes  to  slato,  sandstone,  gravel,  and  marl.* 
Granite  in  place  occurs  rarely,  but  lime  deposits  are  found  in 
tho  streams,  indicating  the  presence  of  liine-i'ock  or  marble  some- 
where in  their  channels.  Tlie  stratification  is  very  much  tilted, 
and  therefore  displayed  in  the  caflons  as  orderly  as  books  upon 
a  shelf  The  secrets  of  nature  are  revealed  as  plainly  as  in 
East  Oregon,  and  give  evidence  of  the  comparative  youth  of 
these  mountains.  If  other  proofs  were  wanted,  ihey  are  found 
in  their  sharp  peaks  and  jagged  sides,  where  other  precipices  of 
rock  are  found  from  one  thousand  to  two  thousand  foot  hitch. 
Even  the  beds  of  the  streams  are  little  worn.  Where  they  run 
through  deep  caHons,  it  is  where  they  have  found  and  followed 
fissures.  Cascades  are  frequent,  often  plunging  over  soft  slate 
rock.  Thin  veins  of  quartz  are  seen  in  the  sfate  and  sandstone. 
Granite  boulders  are  found  which  appear  to  be  glacial,  but  there 
is  no  evidence  of  volcanic  overflow  from  any  part  of  this  range. 

A  great  deal  of  interest  has  been  recently  exhibited  in  tho 
exploration  of  the  Olympic  Range,  sevei-al  expeditions  being  iii 
the  field  this  present  summer.  It  does  not  seem  probable  that 
anything  further  will  be  learned  concerning  tho  general  geo- 
logical features  than  is  already  known,  but  it  is  hoped  to  dis- 
cover some  useful  minerals.  Indeed,  since  the  explorations  of 
a  year  ago,  a  copper-mine  has  been  opened  which  promises  well. 
Oi  this  I  shall  speak  more  particularly  in  another  place. 

*  This  statement  is  made  by  Charles  A.  Barnes,  geologist  of  a  party  which 
spent  the  winter  of  1889-90  in  exploring  among  the  Olympic  Mountains. 


THE   MINERALOGY   OP  OREGON. 


193 


CHAPTER    XIV. 


WHAT    I    LEARNED  ABOUT   THE    MlNKRAfiOC  i'   OF   OHEGON. 

The  valuable  minornla  which  liave  boon  worked  in  Oregon  are: 
first,  the  precious  motais,  ^old  and  silver;  and,  second,  copper, 
lead,  iron,  coal,  marble,  and  salt. 

Concerning  the  formation  of  the  niotals,  more  especially  of 
gold,  there  are  many  theories.  The  age  of  the  rocks  associated 
with  gold  must  serve  as  an  indication  of  some  value  in  pointing 
out  its  origin, — tlio  most  probable  theory  of  which  seems  to  be 
that,  at  a  period  when  great  changes  were  going  on  in  the  shape 
of  the  earth,  the  upheaval  of  mountains  and  overflow  of  vol- 
canoes, certain  vaprrs  contained  in  the  earth  being  forced  by 
heat  and  pressure  into  the  tissures  of  rock  already  hardened,  or 
even  into  the  substance  of  rock  not  yet  solidified,  became  pre- 
cipitated in  the  form  of  gold  upon  the  walls  of  the  cavities 
which  shut  them  in.  Much  of  this  gold  was  subsequently  sot 
free  by  the  action  of  the  water,  and  is  found  mixed  with  sand 
and  gravel  or  earthy  matter  in  old  river-beds  or  valleys  between 
high  mountains.  Much  of  it  still  remains  in  its  original  position, 
and  has  to  bo  got  out  of  the  rock  by  blasting  and  crushing. 

The  gold-fields  of  Oregon  lie  along  the  bases  of,  or  in  close 
neighborhood  to,  its  mountain  ranges;  and  there  is  no  mountain 
chain  which  has  not  somewhere  along  it  a  gold-field,  more  or  less 
productive  ;  but  in  West  Oregon  their  rugged  nature  and  im- 
penetrable covering  of  timber  have  prevented  their  being  much 
prospected.  It  is  only  in  the  placer  diggings  of  the  southern 
counties  and  the  beach  diggings  of  the  coast  counties  that 
mining  for  gold  has  been  carried  on  to  any  extent. 

After  the  rush  of  '49  to  the  gold-bars  of  the  California  rivei-s 
had  made  minors  and  experts  of  a  hitherto  purely  agricultural 
population  in  Oregon,  they  began  to  find  indications  on  their  own 
soil  of  the  existep""  '>f  the  precious  metal.  Travelling  overland 
to  and  from  C'  ifoi'nia  gave  them  opportunities  of  obsor^'ing 
the  nature  of  the  country,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  gold- 
hunters  stopped  north  of  the  California  line.     As  early  as  1852 

18 


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;!r 


i4 


ft 


194 


ATLANTIS   AEISEX. 


good  placer  diggings  began  to  be  discovered,  and  for  a  number 
of  years  were  worked  with  profit.  They  still  yield  moderately, 
but  are  chiefly  abandoned  to  the  Chineh'^  miners,  who  content 
themselves  with  smaller  profits  than  our  own  people. 

Jackson  County  was  formerly  divided  into  several  mining  dis- 
tricts, the  gold  being  placer  and  coarse  gold.  Formerly  nuggets 
were  found  not  far  from  Jacksonville  worth  from  ten  dollars 
to  forty  dollars,  one  hundred  dollars,  and  even  nine  hundred 
dollars ;  but  such  discoveries  are  i-are  of  late.  I  note,  however, 
the  recent  discovery  of  a  three-hundred-dollar  nugget  in  Jack- 
son County.  From  first  to  last  Jackson  County  has  contributed 
thirt}'  million  dollars  to  the  gold  market  of  the  world. 

Without  going  into  mining  geology,  it  is  suflSeient  to  remark 
that  the  rocks  of  Rogue  River  Valley,  where  gold  jjlacers  were 
discovered  on  Jackson  Creek  in  1852,  are  of  the  Cretaceous 
period  rnaijily,  instead  of  the  earlier  Jurassic.  All  the  aurifer- 
ous rocks  are  metamorphio,  and  tilted  up  at  high  angles.  It  is 
not  among  rocks  of  this  formation  that  large  or  continuous 
veins  are  to  be  looked  for,  while  small  gold-bearing  veins  of 
quartz  are  numerous  and  often  misleading.  The  annual  pro- 
duction of  gold  in  Jackson  County  had  dwindled  in  1870  to  two 
hundred  thousaud  dollars  per  annum,  which  was  mined  by 
Chinamen.  '  ■      -  .  - 

At  Wagner  Creek,  in  Rogue  River  Valley,  arc  some  quartz 
mines  that  have  yielded  fairly  well.  Gold  Ilill,  discovered  in 
1860,  and  located  at  the  extreme  western  limit  of  the  valley,  is  re- 
garded by  geologists  and  miners  with  a  curious  interest, — by  the 
former  because  it  is  in  the  midst  of  a  tract  of  eruptive  granite 
unlike  anything  else  in  this  region,  and  by  the  latter  on  account 
of  its  wonderful  promise  and  pitiable  failure.  A  pocket  yielded 
one  thousand  ounces  per  week  at  the  first,  which  was  expended 
in  mining  machinery,  and  it  was  then  discovered  that  the  claim 
Avas  exhausted.  The  most  recent  discovery  in  Rogue  River 
Valley  is  of  a  reputed  silver-bearing  ledge  on  Evans's  Creek, 
assaying  ninety  dollars  per  ton  in  silver  and  two  dollars  in  gold. 

There  was  scarcely  a  stream  in  Southern  Oregon  which  would 
not  pay  to  Avork,  and  all  were  tested.  The  well  paying  were 
Jackson,  Althouse,  Apple^ute,  and  Illinois  Rivers;  ai:d  the  best 
of  those  were  the  streams  tributary  to  Applegate,  Illinois,  and 


THE   MINERALOGY   OF   OREGON. 


195 


middle  Eogue  Elvers,  where  mining  is  still  carried  on  by  the 
hydraulic  process,  and  where  large  sums  have  been  expend od 
in  the  construction  of  mining  ditches.  The  Stirling  Mine,  south- 
west of  Jacksonville,  is  the  most  important  bj'draulic  mine  in 
the  State,  and  is  owned  in  Portland.  Near  Waldo,  in  Josephine 
County,  there  is  another  well-equipped  and  paying  gravel  mine. 
The  water  is  conveyed  to  it  by  a  ditch  twenty-three  miles  long, 
capable  of  delivering  one  million  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
gallons  per  hour.  Its  width  is  eight  feet  at  top  and  four  at  bot- 
tom, and  it  is  three  feet  deep.  The  hydraulic  mean  pi-essure 
employed  is  three  hundred  feet,  with  three  nozzles  of  six  inches 
aperture.  The  slope  of  this  ditch  is  thirteen  feet  to  the  mile. 
Near  Uniontown  is  a  hydraulic  claim  owned  and  worked  by 
a  Chinaman,  who  employs  his  countrymen.  Water  is  brought 
to  it  by  a  ditch  seven  miles  long,  carrying  one  million  four 
hundred  thousand  gallons  per  hour  during  the  season.  The 
cost  of  these  ditches  was  ten  thousand  and  twelve  thousand 
dollars  lespcctively.  The  Applegate  ditch,  which  furnishes 
water  to  several  claims,  is  five  miles  long,  with  a  width  at  top 
of  six  feet,  at  bottom  of  three  feet,  and  a  depth  of  three  feet. 
The  slope  is  twenty-two  feet.  Squaw  Lake  ditch,  twelve  and 
a  half  miles  long,  cost,  with  the  dam  at  the  foot  of  the  lake, 
twenty-six  thousand  dollars.  These  ditches  render  available  a 
large  extent  of  auriferous  ground  whose  working  would  other- 
wise be  debarred  by  elevation.  Squaw  Lake,  situated  on  the 
Oregon  and  California  line,  is  a  considerable  body  of  water,  with 
an  altitude  of  five  thousand  feet.  A  new  hydraulic  mine  has 
recently  been  opened  in  Southern  Oregon,  at  a  cost  of  t^'^euty- 
two  thousand  dollars,  which  promises  to  return  double  or  treble 
that  amount  per  annum.  It  yields  twelve  and  a  half  cents  per 
yard,  which  is  considered  rich  dirt.  Some  nuggets  have  been 
picked  up  in  this  claim  valued  at  from  tiiree  hundred  and  fifty 
to  five  hundred  dollars.  This  is  a  Blue  Gravel  mine,  situated 
on  the  Klamath,  and  there  are  other  claims  on  this  deposit. 

Douglas  County  lias  several  mining  localities,  the  best  of 
which  are  on  the  affluents  of  the  South  Umpqua  Kiver.  Of  these 
the  chief  ia  Cow  Creek,  where  the  placers  are  extensive  and  nave 
been  worked  for  thirty  years.  Quartz  mines  are  also  found  in 
the  lateral  cafions.     Two,  the  Lucky  Queen  and  the  Esther,  have 


m 


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196 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


enjoyed  some  notoriety.  They  are  just  over  the  line  in  Josephine 
County,  the  Queen  being  a  few  miles  only  from  Grant's  Pass. 
The  company  expended  tweniy-five  thousand  doUare  on  it,  but 
abandoned  it  in  1879,  since  which  it  has  been  re-located.  The 
Esther  was  also  abandoned  and  its  machinery  sold,  the  company 
having  expended  as  much  as  the  mine  produced. 

The  ra'nes  of  the  southern  part  of  Josephine  County  yield 
annually  about  seventy  thousand  dollars.  The  pocket  mines  of 
Jackson  County  have  furnished  a  total  of  about  seven  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  nearly  all  of  which  was  yielded  in  the  years 
from  1860  to  1865.  The  failure  of  quartz  mining  in  Southern  Ore- 
gon seems  to  be  owing  to  a  lack  of  skill  and  persistence  quite 
as  much  as  to  the  quality  of  the  rock,  which  yields  assays  that 
should  warrant  the  necessary  expenditure  to  work  them. 

Coos  and  Curry  Counties,  being  of  the  same  geological  forma- 
tion as  those  immediately  cast  of  them,  have  mines  of  the  same 
character,  quartz,  gr  /el,  and  placer,  but  not  to  so  great  an  ex- 
tent as  Josephine.  Thoy  have  besides  the  black  sand  of  gold 
beaches,  which  has  been  rained  quite  steadily  ever  since  its 
discovery  in  1852  by  some  half-breed  Indians,  at  a  place  a  few 
miles  north  of  the  Coquille  River.  In  1853  they  sold  their  claim 
to  McNamara  Brothers  for  twenty  thousand  dollars.  Pans  of 
black  sand  taken  from  their  claim  yielded  from  eight  to  ten 
dollai's.  Over  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  wore  taken  from 
this  claim,  which  led,  as  might  be  expected,  to  a  rush  from  the 
valleys  to  the  sea-shore.  But  few  locations  paid  like  the  first 
one,  and,  alt  hough  the  sand  continues  to  be  worked,  no  one 
makes  more  than  fair  wages. 

An  ancient  sea-beach,  three  miles  inland,  was  discovered  by 
Mr.  Hinch,  who  took  up  a  claim  there  which  he  sold  for  ten 
thousand  dollars  to  John  Pershbaker  &  Co.,  who  sold  it  again 
for  thirty  thousand  dollars.  Like  the  first  location  on  the  lower 
beach,  it  was  better  than  any  afterwards  taken. 

The  beach  sands  are  black  in  color  because  they  are  composed 
chiefly  of  magnetic  iron,  or  oxide  of  iron,  called  magnetite.  It 
is  hard,  strongly  magnetic,  and  infusible.  The  particles  of  gold 
aceompanyitig  the  sand  are  extremely  small,  and  so  flaky  that 
often  they  will  flo;.t  upon  water,  nor  can  they  be  brought  to  unite 
with  quicksilver.     This  latter  quality  has  caused  miners  to  con- 


uBBMUcga 


THE   MINERALOGY   OF   OREGON, 


197 


:fl 


lend  that  each  particle  is  coated  with  a  film  of  iron  sulphide 
which  prevents  amalgamation,  but  the  microscope  reveals  noth- 
ing to  confirm  this  theory.  It  is  easy  to  see  that,  with  the  sand 
so  heavy  and  the  gold  so  light,  it  must  be  difficult  to  capture  a 
fortune  fi  nn  beach  mining,  the  sand  of  the  ancier  t  beaches 
yielding  an  average  of  three  dollars  i)er  ton.  There  are  more 
than  a  hundred  of  these  auriferous  beaches,  extending  from 
Gray's  Harbor  on  the  north  to  Gold  Bluff  I^i  California.  Twenty- 
seven  of  theni  have  been  worked.  The  most  important  of  these 
are  at  Yaquina,  Alseya,  Cape  Lookout,  Umpqua,  Coquille,  Ellens- 
burg,  and  Chetco.  The  production  varies.  The  estimate  for 
1883  in  Curry  County  was  twenl^y  thousand  dollars.  On  the 
other  hand,  one  mine  in  Coos  County  yielded  eighteen  thousand 
dollars  in  twelve  months.  ^      -, 

Quartz  and  gravel  mining  are  now  on  a  better  basis  in 
Southern  Oregon  than  formerly.  There  are  more  mills,  more 
mining  ditches,  and  altogether  belter  facilities  for  extracting 
the  gold  of  the  country,  handled  undoubtedly  with  a  belter 
knowledge.  What  the  farmer  gets  out  of  tlie  earth  in  one  shape 
the  miner  extracts  in  another,  and  the  exchange  of  products 
results  in  a  benefit  to  the  agriculturist ;  hence  it  is  desirable 
to  have  a  mining  population  for  consumers,  a  happy  comoina- 
tion  which  exists  in  Southern  Oregon.  ^      • 

The  mines  of  Lane  County  lie  high  up  on  the  Middle  Fork 
and  McKenzie  Fork  of  the  Wailamet  Eiver  in  the  foot-hills 
of  the  Cascade  Range.  The  Bohemia  mining  district,  on  the 
Middle  Fork,  is  about  thirty-five  miles  southeast  from  Cottage 
Grove,  on  the  Southern  Pacific.  The  rock  of  this  district  is  slate 
and  granite,  the  veins  cropping  strongly  and  canying  free  gold 
at  the  surface.  In  general  the  quart:":  is  rose-colored,  containing 
gold  and  silver,  with  galena,  pyrites,  zinc  blende,  and  occasion- 
ally antimony.  A  small  stamp-mill  is  at  work  in  this  district, 
and  some  rich  gold  discoveries  have  been  made  within  the  present 
}ear.  ;i,.,  ,,,.;■,.,, 

The  Blue  River  mining  district  on  McKenzie  Fork  is  in  a 
rough  and  almost  inaccessible  region,  abounding  in  the  mag- 
nificent scenery  of  this  lange,  well  wooded  and  well  watered. 
The  quartz  veins  in  this  district  are  in  an  amygdaloidal  trap 
rock,  or  graywacke,  an  altered  and  decomposed  form  of  igne- 


198 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


0U8  rock,  which  rests  upon  gi-anite.  The  veins  are  largo,  some 
of  them  twelve  feet  in  thickness.  The  rock  is  easy  to  excavate 
near  the  surface,  but  will  probably  be  found  harder  as  it  goes 
down.     Free  gold  is  found  at  the  top. 

It  has  been  known  for  twenty-five  years  that  gold  existed  in 
tliis  district,  and  the  Treasure  mine  was  worked  by  arastra  for 
a  little  time,  but  abandoned  as  unprofitable.  Moi*e  recently  it 
has  been  reopened  by  other  parties,  who  find  it  to  assay  from 
thirty-  dollars  to  forty  dollars  per  ton,  and  to  bo  free  milling. 
There  are  several  locations  on  the  Blue  River  ridge  dating  back 
no  further  than  1887.  The  Eureka,  just  .south  of  Treasure,  is  an 
extension  of  the  same.  It  has  been  tested  in  a  small  mill,  and 
yields  from  twenty  dollars  to  thirty  dollars  per  ton.  A  group 
of  three  locations,  thrje-quarters  of  a  mile  west  of  Treasure, 
are  incorporated  together  under  the  name  of  the  Blue  River 
Mining  Company,  and  owned  in  Eugene.  The  assa^-s  of  the 
ore  from  thu  Croesus  vary  from  three  dollars  and  Boventy-dve 
cents  to  one  hundred  and  nine  dollars  per  ton,  and  of  the  Im- 
perial from  five  dollars  and  fifty  cents  to  twelve  hundred  dollars. 
This  company  has  a  small  mill. 

The  Lane  County  Mining  Company  also  own  tliree  claims  in 
this  vicinity,  but  have  worked  only  one,  the  Durango,  which 
assays  from  two  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents  to  eighty-seven 
dollars  per  ton.  The  King-Bee,  a  large  ledge,  was  worked  to  a 
limited  extent  twenty-five  years  ago,  and  abandoned.  It  assays 
from  three  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents  to  two  hundred  and 
eleven  dollars  per  ton,  principally  gold.  Near  the  King-Bee  is 
the  Buck,  owned  in  Eugene,  which  assays  from  four  hundred 
dollars  to  nine  hundred  dollars.  There  are  perhaps  as  many 
more  claims  on  and  immediately  about  Treasure  Hill,  which 
have  yet  to  be  heard  fi'om.  But  there  seems  little  doubt  that 
this  is  a  veritable  gold-mining  district. 

Discoveries  were  also  made  twenty-five  years  ago,  as  well 
as  more  recently,  at  the  heads  of  the  Santiam  and  Molalla 
Rivers,  in  the  Wallamet  Valley.  On  the  latter,  in  Clackamas 
County,  is  a  very  thick  ledge  of  bluish-white  quartz,  carrying 
free  gold  and  pyrites,  which  a.ssays  twentj'-five  dollars  in  gold 
and  two  hundred  and  thirty  five  dollars  in  silver  to  the  ton. 
Specimens  from  this  district  are  shown  which  assay  seven  hun- 


THE   MINERALOGY   OF   OREGON'. 


199 


Pi 


dred  ounces  of  silver  per  ton,  besides  some  gold.  Other  speci- 
mens not  so  rich  contain  cubic  galena,  copper,  iron  pyrites,  and 
zinc  blende, — a  good  smelting  ore. 

The  mines  near  Wilhoit  Springs,  on  a  branch  of  the  Molalla, 
at  an  altitude  of  about  twelve  hundred  feet  above  sea-level,  are 
found  in  rocks  of  a  more  recent  geological  era  than  elsewhere. 
It  is  here  that  a  deposit  is  found,  of  great  extent,  which  is  not 
rock  at  all,  but  a  soft,  light,  silver-bearing  earth,  in  some  places 
sixty  feet  in  depth,  with  a  hardness  about  that  of  gypsum.  In 
color  it  is  a  gray,  varying  to  red  or  brown,  with  a  specific 
gravity  of  1.5.  The  silver  contained  varies  from  one  to  ten 
ounces  per  ton,  with  a  small  admixture  of  lead.  No  practical 
tests  have  been  made  of  the  value  of  this  remarkable  earth. 

The  most  promising  mining  districts  of  those  bordering  the 
Wallamet  Yalley  are  situated  on  the  North  and  South  Forks  of 
the  Santiam,  and  are  reached  from  the  Southern  Pacific  by 
wagon  from  Turner,  in  Marion  County.  The  formations  are 
porphyritic  and  gi*anitic,  similar  to  the  belt  along  the  range, 
north  and  south.  Some  slate,  silicious  and  approaching  sand- 
stone, is  found.  Quartz  is  abundant,  and  float  carrying  gold  is 
frequently  found  in  t^  8  water-courses.  Greenhorn  district  was 
discovered  by  Dr.  E.  0.  Smith,  of  Portland,  in  18G4.  Several 
locations  were  made,  of  which  the  White  Bull  became  famous 
for  giving  to  the  world  the  most  beautiful  specimens  of  arbores- 
cent gold  ever  seen.  The  quartz  was  of  the  nature  called 
"  rotten," — that  is,  crumbling  and  stained ;  and  in  it  occurred 
what  wei'e  called  "eagles'  nests,"  which,  in  fact,  they  resembled, 
being  cavities  as  lai'ge  as  the  crown  of  a  man's  hat  filled  with 
sticks  or  straws  of  gold,  which,  on  examination,  proved  to  be 
skeins  of  the  finest  wiregold,  as  evenly  twisted  into  threads 
as  if  it  had  passed  through  a  thread-mill.  These  skeins  were 
attached  to  the  irregular  pngies  of  the  quartz  on  the  walls  of 
the  cavity,  and,  crossing  in  every  direction,  held  some  bits  of 
quartz  in  the  tangles  they  made.  The  effect  of  the  whole  was 
surprising  and  magnificent.  These  elegant  specimens,  worth 
twice  the  gold  they  contained,  were  simply  ground  up  like  com- 
mon ore.  There  was  another  class  of  quartz  in  this  mine 
which  was  hard,  white,  and  stuck  full  of  bits  of  gold  from  the 
size  of  a  pin-head  to  a  bird-shot. 


! 


I' 


II 

(I 


pi 


200 


•    ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


The  sight  of  these  treasurep  naturally  caused  great  excite- 
ment, and  gave  the  owners  hope  of  fabulous  riches.  A  quartz- 
mill  and  saw  mill  "were  purchased  and  set  up  in  the  district;  but, 
like  the  Gold  Hill  mine  in  southern  Oregon,  which,  indeed,  it 
resembled,  it  suddenly  failed,  the  pocket  being  exhausted.  Af- 
terwards the  mill  was  burned.  A  second  effort  to  make  some- 
thing out  of  this  mine  by  other  parties  was  also  a  failure,  and  a 
second  mill  was  burned.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  with  dif- 
ferent methods  and  concentration,  this  mine  might  bo  made  to 
pay,  and  recent  developments  go  to  confirm  it. 

Another  mine  in  this  district, — the  Canal  Fork, — carries  free 
gold  at  the  surface  only.  By  working-test  it  yields  from  nine- 
teen dollars  to  thirty  dollars  per  ton.  Lower  down  the  ore  be- 
comes very  base  with  galena,  and  assays  from  two  hundred  dol- 
lars to  five  hundred  ounces  per  ton  ;.'  silver.  There  is  a  mill  on 
this  mine  which  produced  from  two  hundred  tons  five  thousand 
dollars,  or  twenty-five  dollars  per  ton.  The  cost  of  the  mill  and 
other  expenses  were  twenty  thousand  dollars.  Even  at  this 
amount  the  mine  could  be  made,  with  good  management,  to 
pay. 

Other  mines  in  the  adjoining  district  of  Galena  assay  well, 
and  quartz  leads  charged  with  lead,  copper,  iron,  and  zinc  sul- 
phides, the  galena  carrying  silver,  are  frequent.  One  galena 
lode,  four  feet  in  width,  assays  forty  ounces  of  silver  to  the  ton, 
with  no  minerals  prejudicial  to  smelting  accompanying  it. 

The  Bonanza  mine,  owned  by  the  Albany  Mining  and  Milling 
Company,  is  in  the  Quartzvillo  district  of  the  Santiam.  The  ore 
is  free  gold  in  decomposed  quartz,  and  resembles  the  product  of 
the  While  Bull  mine,  assaying,  in  some  instances,  tweni3'-six 
thousand  dollars  to  the  ton.  At  present  this  mine  promises  to 
hold  out  for  a  year  or  more  of  milling,  in  which  case  the  com- 
pany will  secure  an  ample  fortune  for  all. 

Why  these  mines  are  not  more  developed  may  be  owing  to 
several  causes.  Primarily,  a  heavy  expense  attends  quartz 
mining  anywhere,  and  in  a  country  so  difficult  of  access  it  is 
increased.  Again,  these  locations  have  not  been  made  by  prac- 
tical miners,  but  by  mei'chants  and  farmers,  who  have  an 
assured  living  out  of  other  pursuits,  and  who  have  neither  the 
knowledge  nor  the  capital  to  make  a  success  of  mining,  but  who 


T 


THE   MIXERALOGY   OF   OREGON. 


d6i 


hold  thoir  discoveries  by  paient  away  from  improvement  by 
others. 

West  Oregon  has  never  had  a  mining  population,  except  so 
far  as  they  became  such  temporarily  througli  efforts  to  mend 
their  fortunes  in  occasional  rushes  to  placer  diggings.*  The 
nearly  impenetrable  character  of  the  forest  on  the  western  slope 
of  the  Cascades,  hiding  Irom  observation  by  travellers,  and  even 
explorers,  the  character  of  the  rocks,  is  also  a  potential  reason 
why  so  little  is  known  of  the  mining  possibilities  of  the  Wal- 
lamet  Valley. 

Quartz  veins  are  found  in  rock — sandstone  running  into  a 
smooth  whetstone  rock,  with  limestone  and  soapstono  sugges- 
tions of  a  cretaceous  origin — in  Tillamook  County.  A  few 
thousand  dollars  were  spent  in  exploiting  a  claim  on  Trask  River, 
which  exhibited  some  good  top  rock  that  soon  gave  out.  A 
working  result  of  sixty-six  dollars  per  ton  was  obtained  from  one 
location,  but  no  development  further  has  ever  been  made. 

The  most  interesting  recent  discovery  in  mining  is  of  a  de- 
posit of  nickel  near  Eiddle,  in  Douglas  County.  It  is  owned  by 
a  California  company  who  purchased  it  from  the  Oregon  owners 
for  three  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  eastern  capitalists  are 
neijotiatintj  for  it.  It  is  claimed  that  the  oi'e  can  be  worked  and 
refined  at  a  profit  of  twenty-two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  ton. 

Natural  gas  is  a  recent  discover^',  made  in  Linn  and  other 
counties,  which  is  regarded  as  of  great  importance.  The  indi- 
cations are  confirmed  by  the  very  general  presence  of  coal  un- 
derlying the  foot-hills  in  almost  any  part  of  West  Oregon,  espe- 
cially along  the  lower  Columbia  and  in  the  Coast  Range.  Iron 
most  fi'equontly  is  I'ound  near  the  coal-beds,  a  feature  which 
promises  well  for  the  future  manufacturing  interests  of  the 
State.  Columbia  County,  which  faces  on  the  Columbia  River, 
possesses  these  features  in  a  striking  degree,  and  combined  with 

*  Anexampleof  m  ning  by  unprofessional  miners  is  this  :  William  Ruble, 
of  Salem,  a  farmer,  and  well  advanced  in  life,  has  been  working  a  mine  in 
Josephine  County  for  the  past  seven  years.  His  claim  consists  of  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  acres  of  gravel,  out  of  which,  without  much  capital,  he  has  man- 
aged to  obtain  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  and  to  get  his  ground  into  good 
working  shape.  He  could  sell  it  now  for  ten  thousand  dollars  per  acre,  but 
it  is  worth  more  to  hold  and  work. 


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11 

202 


ATLANTIS  AEISEN. 


an  abundance  of  timber.  Clatsop  County  has  similar  resources, 
though  less  accessible. 

Coal  was  discovered  in  Oregon  before  Washington  was  sepa- 
rated from  it,  or  about  1852.  The  first  coal,  and  so  far  the 
only  coal,  mined  in  this  State  has  been  at  Coos  Bay.  A  vessel 
named  the  •'  Chauncey"  in  1854  was  loaded  with  a  cargo  taken 
from  a  drift  in  a  claim  a  mile  and  a  half  from  Coal  Bank  Slough, 
and  carried  in  wagons  to  that  place,  where  it  was  transferred  to 
scows  and  taken  to  Empire  City  to  bo  put  aboard  the  vessel. 
After  all  this  labor,  the  vessel  and  cargo  were  lost  on  the  bar. 
Another  cargo  was  soon  afterwards  shipped  in  the  same  manner, 
which  reached  San  Francisco,  whore  it  brought  forty  dollars  per 
ton,  the  freight  on  it  being  thirteen  dollars. 

The  following  year  the  Newport  and  Eastport  mines  were 
opened,  and  commenced  shipment  in  1856,  since  which  time 
they  have  continued  to  furnish  fuel  to  the  California  market. 
The  shipments  amount  to  about  five  thousand  tons  monthly. 
The  mines  opened,  after  the  Newport  and  Eastport,  were  the 
Hardy,  in  1871;  the  Utter,  in  1874;  the  Henryville,  the  same 
year;  and  the  Southport,  in  1875.  Recent  reported  discoveries 
of  a  superior  hard  coal  in  the  mountains  about  Coos  Bay  are 
interesting  capitalists. 

Other  coal-beds  exist  in  different  parts  of  Oregon,  chiefly  in 
the  region  of  the  Coast  Eange.  The  United  States  Geological 
Survey  for  1887  gives  the  following  aual^'sis : 


Water. 

Volatile 
Matter. 

Fixed 
Carbou. 

Ash. 

Coke. 

C.-^8  Bay 

Astoria 

Blue  Mountain  .... 
Camas  Mountain   .    .   . 

20.00 
2.56 
1.08 
1.53 

32.59 
46.29 
24.40 
42.82 

41.98 
48.49 
34.71 
44.94 

5.34 

2.74 

39.81 

10.71 

Fair. 

Very  good. 
Non-coking. 

'i  id 


li. 


THE  MINES  OF  EAST  OEEGON. 


203 


Ml 


CHAPTER  XV. 


A   GLIMPSE   OF   THE   MINES   OF   EAST   OREGON. 

Wherevee  in  East  Oregon  the  irregular  range  of  the  Blue 
Mountains  has  lifted  itself  above  the  high  table-lands  and  the 
sedimentary  rocks,  there  are  seen  the  metamorphic  or  mineral- 
bearing  rocks  in  which  mines  may  be  looked  for.  These  erup- 
tive heights  arc  divided  by  local  nomenclature  into  Owyhee, 
Powder  River,  Pine  Creek,  John  Day,  Malheur,  Cedar,  and 
Steen  Mounjtains.  The  mining  districts,  so  far  as  discovered, 
are  situated  on  the  John  Day,  Powder,  Malheur,  and  Burnt 
Rivers  and  their  branches,  as  they  come  out  of  these  mountains. 

The  John  Day  placer  mines  were  discovered  in  1862  by  a 
party  of  Californians  en  route  to  Salmon  River,  in  Idaho.  These 
placers  were  on  Granite,  Elk,  Dixie,  and  Caflon  Creeks,  and 
very  productive,  as  many  as  five  thousand  miners  being  at  work 
there  for  several  seasons.  These  placers  ai'e  now  given  over  to 
a  few  miners,  most  of  whom  are  Chinese ;  but  there  are  others 
on  the  numerous  creeks  upon  the  head-waters  of  John  Day 
which  are  yielding  good  wages  to  white  men. 

The  second  discovery  of  any  note  was  in  1863,  at  Humboldt 
or  Mormon  Basin,  which  lies  on  the  flat  top  of  a  ridge  between 
Burnt  River  and  Willow  Creek,  a  fork  of  the  Malheur.  Along 
the  sides  of  this  ridge  and  at  its  feet  were  the  camps  of 
Rye  Valley,  Malheur  City,  Amelia,  El  Dorado,  and  Clarksville. 
Mormon  Basin  was  destitute  of  water,  except  that  furnished  by 
two  small  streams,  and  the  melting  of  the  winter  snows,  which 
give  from  twenty  to  eighty  days  of  a  mining  stage,  according 
to  the  season.  The  first  year  one  hundred  miners  made  an 
ounce  a  day  to  the  hand  as  long  as  there  was  water.  Later 
their  claims  were  abandoned,  and  eventually  fell  into  the  hands 
of  companies  who  worked  the  deep  gravel  mines  by  hydraulic 
machinery,  of  which  there  are  several  plants  in  operation.  One 
firm  employs  twenty  six  men,  and  uses  two  sets  of  sixteen-inch 
sluices,  emptying  into  a  thirty-inch  flume  two  thousand  feet 
long.     Their  hydraulic  apparatus  consists  of  seven-inch  pipe, 


,r| 


I      '"^ 


H 


204 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


:': 


,  I 


supplying  two  grauts  with  two-inch  nozzles,  working  under  one 
hundred  to  two  hundred  feet  head.  Their  pay-dirt  is  from  five 
to  twenty  feet  deep,  and  contains  a  great  proportion  of  quartz 
boulders,  some  weighing  a  ton  or  more,  and  many  showing 
free  gold.  Several  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  fine  gold  quartz 
specimens  have  been  found  in  the  sluices,  which  leads  to  the 
belief  that  a  valuable  quartz  mine  will  yet  be  discovei'cd.  The 
claim  yields  from  eight  thousand  to  twenty  thousand  dollars, 
according  to  the  season.  The  other  firms  in  Mormon  Basin 
clear  up  in  a  season  about  fourteen  thousand  four  hundred  and 
fifty-six  dollars.  The  total  product  in  1883  was  thirty  five 
thousand  dollars,  and  at  the  present  rate  of  working  the  mines 
are  likely  to  last  for  twenty  j-ears  longer. 

El  Dorado  district,  west  of  Mormon  Basin,  is  furnished  with 
water  by  the  great  ninety-mile  ditch  of  Burnt  River,  and  is  one 
of  the  most  important  in  the  State.  The  Weatherby  placers,  on 
Burnt  River,  produce  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year  by  hydraulic 
process ;  and  the  Clarkeville  mines,  owned  in  Chicago,  with 
forty  miles  of  ditches  and  extensive  water-rights,  carry  on  a 
large  mining  business. 

The  product  of  the  Granite  Creek  district,  in  the  John  Day 
Valley,  is  about  twenty  thousand  dollars  per  annum — a  part  of 
this  being  from  the  silver-mines  Cabell  and  Beagle.  The  Cabell 
is  named  after  a  Nevada  miner  of  that  name,  who,  in  searching 
for  smelting  ores  on  the  South  Fork  of  Powder  River,  dis- 
covered a  number  carrying  lead,  gold,  and  silver  in  paying 
amount.  The  Cabell  ships  its  ore  to  Omaha  to  be  smelted,  at  a 
cost  of  fifty-eight  dollars  per  ton,  and  still  makes  a  profit. 

Dixie  Creek  distri  t,  always  a  productive  one,  still  pays  about 
forty  thousand  dollars  k  year  from  placer  mining.  There  are  a 
good  many  quartz  locations,  a  dozen  or  more  of  vphich  have 
been  worked,  in  this  district,  with  unknown  results.  But  the 
annual  output  of  the  placers  of  East  Oregon  has  been  estimated 
to  be  about  three  hundred  thousand  dollars,  but,  possibly,  not 
over  two  hundred  and  seventy-one  thousand  doUai'S. 

The  Nelson  Mine,  seven  miles  west  of  Baker  City,  is  a  deep 
gravel  propertj"  producing  forty  thousand  dollars  per  season. 
It  consists  of  seventy  acres  of  patented  land  with  a  deposit  of 
gravel  one  hundred  and  seventeen  feet  in  depth,  and  lies  high 


THE   MINES   OF    EAST   OREGON. 


205 


m 


enough  to  afford  room  for  dumping.  Ft  is  owned  by  rnlifornians, 
who  bought  it  for  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  1887,  and 
put  in  sixty  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  improvements.  There 
are  other  valuable  gravel  mines  at  Sumpter  and  Doer  Creek, 
besides  many  yet  to  be  developed.  A  railroad  is  being  con- 
structed from  Baker  City  to  Sumpter. 

Quartz  mining  had  not  been  profitably  carried  on  formerly 
for  several  reasons,  mainly  the  lack  of  capital  and  transporta- 
tion. The  first  mine  discovered  and  worked  was  the  Virtue, 
near  Baker  City.  This  famous  property  comprises  three  thou 
sand  feet  on  a  strong  vein  from  two  to  six  feet  wide.  It  has  been 
prospected  for  one  thousand  feet  to  a  depth  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  feet.  The  quartz  is  free  milling  costing  only  seven  dollars 
and  fifty  cents,  while  the  ore  is  worth  forty  dollars.  It  is 
estimated  that  it  h.'xs  yielded  two  million  dollars. 

Another  valuable  free-gold  quartz  mine  is  the  Conner  Creek 
Mine,  on  Conner  Creek,  in  Baker  County,  three  miles  from 
Snake  River.  Although  not  a  high-grade  ore,  it  is  so  cheaply 
milled  as  to  yield  v  y  large  profits.  It  is  partly  owned  in  Port- 
land, and  parily  in  Baker  County.  The  Gold  Ridge  Mine,  four 
miles  from  Burnt  River,  is  a  similar  property,  which  pays  ten 
dollars  per  ton,  but  is  now  I3  ing  idle.     It  is  owned  in  California. 

The  silver-mines  of  Baker  County  are  the  Green  Discovery 
and  the  Monumental,  thirty-five  miles  south  of  Baker  City,  in 
Rye  Valley,  the  Mammoth,  thirty  miles  west  of  Baker,  and  the 
Cabell,  already  referred  to.  The  first  named  was  found  by 
Green,  a  prospector,  in  1869.  The  Green  vein  was  large,  but 
only  a  few  inches  of  it  was  pay-rock.  The  total  production  was 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  but  the  expenses  were  twice  that 
amount.  The  Monumental,  belonging  to  the  same  company, 
and  only  a  mile  distant,  was  sold  to  a  Boston  firm  for  fifty-five 
thousand  dollars,  which  brought  the  original  company  out  about 
even.  The  Mammoth  Mine  has  a  vein  twenty  feet  wide,  of  low- 
grade  rock,  in  granite.  About  forty  thousand  dollars  had  been 
taken  from  this  claim  in  1888,  from  face-rock  which  paid  twenty 
dollars  per  ton  in  gold.  There  are  other  locations  on  the  same 
lode.  Recent  discoveries  in  the  Greenhorn  Mountain  district 
are  attracting  much  attention,  and  this  is  thought  to  be  one  of 
the  richest  silver-producing  disti'icts  in  the  Northwest. 


i 


!    i 


206 


ATLANTIS   AUI8EN. 


i 


fill 


The  Koysfono  Gold  Mine,  owned  in  Portland,  is  situated  seven 
miles  north  of  Prairie  City,  in  Grant  County.  It  is  the  most 
important  property  in  this  (Quartzburg)  district.  It  comprises 
three  claims,  and  has  a  continuous  length  of  forty-five  hundred 
feet.  The  quartz  carries  free  gold,  metallic  silver,  iron  and 
copper  pyrites,  zinc  blende,  and  galena.  Assays  show  one  hun- 
dred and  six  dollars  per  ton  in  gold,  and  from  one  hundred 
dollars  to  one  thousand  dollars  in  silver.  The  property  is  valued 
at  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

The  Pine  Creek  mines,  of  which  one  hears  a  good  deal,  are 
situated  near  the  Snake  Iliver  boundary  of  Union  County,  and 
are  geologically  interesting,  as  the  stream  on  which  they  are 
situated  rises  in  rugged  peaks  of  greater  elevation  than  any 
other  in  the  Blue  Eange.  The  geology  of  the  district  is  clearly 
seen  in  the  caflons  of  Pine  Creek,  which  show  that  the  founda- 
tion of  this  region  is  grniiite  overlaid  by  slate,  which,  when  the 
internal  heat  of  some  volcanic  period  had  fused  the  granite,  was 
lifted  up,  broken,  and  thousands  of  its  fissures  filled  with  the 
molten  rock,  by  which  means  the  eccentric  granite  dikes  of  the 
district  were  formed.  Other  fissures  were  opened,  cutting  the 
granite,  which  gradually  filled  with  mineral  solutions  carrying 
quartz,  iron  pyrites,  copper,  galena,  and,  in  smaller  proportions, 
gold  and  silver.  At  some  later  period  other  convulsions  followed, 
during  viiich  dikes  of  lava,  trachytic  or  porphyritic  in  charac- 
ter, were  f<;iced  up  through  the  strata,  cutting  the  quartz  veins. 
At  a  still  !  iter  period  there  was  an  outburst  of  melted  trap  rock, 
which  filled  deep  fissures,  and  cooled  in  thick  sheets  over  all. 
Water  and  ice  wore  away  this  covering  forming  the  soil  of 
East  Oregon,  as  previously  noted,  and  also  in  carving  out  the 
perpendicular  dikes  left  cavernous  recesses  in  the  cliffs,  but  the 
lava  dikes  were  left  standing  like  monuments  to  the  dead  granite 
and  trap. 

."  It  is  superfluous  to  remark  that  where  successive  meltings 
and  upheavals  have  occurred  the  quartz  veins  in  the  older 
granite  are  often  interrupted  and  lost,  and  that  no  miner  is  safe 
from  such  an  ending  to  his  entei-prise.  Nevertheless,  the  Pine 
Creek  mines  enjoy  a  high  reputation. 

About  1862  some  Umatilla  Indians  brought  a  quantity  of  gold, 
which  appeared  to  have  been  extracted  from  quartz  in  an  im- 


THE  MINES   OF   EAST  OTtEGON. 


207 


perfect  inannor,  to  a  trader  at  Walla  Walla,  who  with  otherH 
attempted,  on  information  given  by  the  Indians,  to  rt'ach  the 
mines,  but,  fiiiling,  joined  the  gold-seekers  then  rushing  into 
Idaho  througli  the  (irand  Rond  Valley,  and  it  was  not  until  1884 
that  the  locality  so  long  ago  sought  was  discovered.  The  mines 
lie  in  granite,  in  granite  and  slate,  and  sometimes  in  the  plane 
of  contact  between  the  two. 

The  Contact  Silver-Mine,  sixty  or  seventy  miles  northeast  of 
i5aker  City,  is  an  example  of  the  latter  vein.  It  is  accessible 
only  from  Cornucopia,  from  which  place  it  is  distant  three  miles, 
and  two  thousand  feet  higher.  The  vein  runs  along  the  south 
side  of  the  mountain,  one  thousand  feet  above  the  stream,  and 
parallel  with  it.  It  has  an  average  width  of  four  feet,  and  lies 
upon  granite,  with  the  slate  above,  dipping  into  the  mountain 
at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees.  The  rock  is  easily  mined,  and 
said  to  be  rich. 

The  Whitman  Mine  has  been  worked  more  than  any  other  in 
the  district.  It  is  owned  in  Louisville,  Kentiicky,  by  a  company 
with  capital  sufficient  to  develop  whatever  riches  it  may  contain. 
They  have  at  least  found  geological  eccentricities  enough  I) 
confound  the  scientists. 

Several  claims  opened  only  by  prospect  holes  are  located  on 
the  mountain,  of  which  Red  Jacket,  Robert  Emmet,  Union,  and 
Companion  mines  are  most  prominent.  On  the  middle  fork  of 
the  Imnaha  Eivor,  graphic  tellurium  has  been  discovoi'ed  in 
Silver  Tongue  Mine,  owned  by  private  parties.  The  ore  assays 
from  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  to  twenty-one  thou- 
sand dollars  per  ton,  in  gold.  A  large  country  remains  unpros- 
pected  in  the  Pine  Creek  region,  on  the  Wallowa  County  side, 
where  argentiferous  galena  and  gold-bearing  ores  are  known  to 
exist. 

The  ores  of  this  district  are  base,  and  smelting  will  be  a  neces- 
sity. The  free  gold  which  appears  on  the  surface  is  owing 
simply  to  the  decomposition  of  sulphurets  into  oxidized  com- 
pounds of  the  other  accompanying  metitis,  which,  being  friable 
and  loose,  have  been  washed  awaj',  leaving  the  gold  free;  but 
this,  although  highly  gratifying  at  first,  cannot  go  below  a 
certain  depth. 

Metallurgical  works  have  been  established  at  Allentown,  for 


vr 


208 


ATLANTIS   ARISEX. 


I 


I 


(J  ■' 

I'Wi 

chlorinating  and  leaching  gold  and  silver  ores.  A  roasting  fur- 
nace for  desulphurizing  concentrations,  a  two-stamp  mill  for 
workins;  test  lots,  an  assav-office,  and  other  conveniences  are 
also  to  be  found  in  the  Pine  Creek,  or,  as  it  is  named,  Granite 
district. 

On  the  stage-road  from  Baker  City  to  Pine  Creek  are  the 
Sparta,  Eagle,  and  Hog  'Em  districts.  The  firtst  of  these  is  old 
placer  mining  ground,  whicu  formerly  yielded  thirty-five  thou- 
sand dollars  per  annum.  A  gold  quartz  mine,  for  which  a  Salt 
Lake  company  paid  fifty  thousand  dollars,  is  located  in  the  latter 
district.  There  is  a  ten-stamp  mill  here,  and  a  mill  at  Sparta. 
A  Salmon  pulverizer  and  an  arastra  furnish  crushing  power  to 
the  mines  hereabouts. 

It  will  be  readily  seen  from  the  foregoing  that  quartz  mining 
is  in  its  infancj'  in  Oregon,  ye':  that  its  mineral  resources  are 
considerable.  Just  what  amount  of  gold  and  silver  is  produced 
cannot  be  shown,  owing  to  the  fact  that  ores  are  often  milled 
or  smelted  away  from  the  producing  locality,  and  the  results 
coined  in  the  several  mints  of  the  United  States,  where  the 
locale  of  the  precious  metals  is  not  alwaj's  known.  Perhaps  an 
average  of  haL  a  million  of  gold  is  obtained  from  the  mines  of 
this  State  annually.  The  silver-production  is  much  less,  this 
metal  never  being  found  in  placers,  and  requiring  mills  and 
smelters  to  dislodge  it  from  its  matrix. 

The  mineral  belt  of  East  Oregon  is  but  a  continuation  of  the 
Idaho  metal-bearing  mountains,  as,  for  instance,  the  Seven  Devils 
country,  noi'th  of  the  "Weiser  River,  and  directlj-  east  of  Union 
County.  This  region  has  an  elevation  little  above  that  of  the 
Pine  Mountains,  and  derives  its  Sat'^nic  appellation  from  a  group 
of  sevcii  peaks  which  overshadow  one  of  the  greatest  copper- 
mines  in  the  world.  This  district  covers  a  scope  of  country' 
fifteen  by  twenty-four  milei,  and  contaias  vertical  veins  from 
thirty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide  and  thousands  of  feet 
deep.  6  ' 

This  district  was  discovered  twenty-five  yeai's  ago  by  one 
Levi  Allen,  who  located  the  Old  Peacock,  the  phenomenal  sur- 
face mine  of  the  world.  He  held  it  by  doing  one  hundred  dol- 
lars' worth  of  work  on  it  annually  until  1888,  when  he  was  forced 
to  take  in  Montana  parties,  wh^  now  own  thirteen-sixteenths. 


Si 


THE   MINES   OF   EAST   OREO  OX. 


209 


The  mine  is  valued  at  several  millions.  The  ground  has  been 
sluiced  off  lor  half  a  mile  for  the  f-ee  gold  it  contained,  exposing 
twelve  acrec  of  copper  running  ft-om  thirty  to  eighty  per  cent., 
of  a  value  of  between  five  and  six  millions. 

There  are  several  othei*  mines  as  rich  in  the  Seven  Devils 
country.  The  Peacock  group  contains  the  South  Peacock,  with 
one  hundred  yards  squai'e  of  copper,  of  unknown  depth ;  the 
Bodie,  Standard,  Little  Peacock  (assaying  fifty-beven  per  cent, 
copper,  thirty  dollars  gold  and  silver),  Copper  Key,  Confidence, 
and  Side  Issue.  Then  there  is  the  Lockwood  group  of  three 
mines.  Four  tons  of  this  ore  make  one  ton  of  copper  matte, 
with  thirCy-t wo  dollars  per  ton  of  matte  in  gold.  It  carries  its 
own  flux,  as  it  has  sufficient  iron  in  and  near  it  to  make  it  the 
best  b.ieltipg  ore  in  the  country. 

The  River  Queen,  near  Snake  Elver,  is  promising  to  merge 
into  silver  and  gold,  as.saying  fifty-six  per  cent,  copper,  ten  dollars 
and  eighty  cents  silver,  and  five  dollars  in  gold.  It  carries  its 
own  flux  also.  The  Decora  ha'i  an  extensive  deposit  of  low- 
grade  ore  and  a  fine  mill-sito.  There  are  ten  or  a  dozen  othei- 
mine':  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  locations  in  this  region. 
Som.ft  capitalists  of  Monta?ia  have  expended  one  hundred  and 
seventy -five  thousand  dollars  in  development.  The  posoibilitics 
of  Seven  Devils  mineral  belt  are  bej-ond  computation. 

The  nearness  of  this  wealth  to  the  eastern  counties  of  Oi'e- 
gon  is  of  great  significance  to  this  part  of  Oregon.  The  diffi- 
culty hitherto  has  been  the  inaccessibility  of  these  mines,  which 
were  reached  by  two  hundred  miles  of  exceedingly  rough  and 
dangerous  travel.  But  capital,  which  smooths  ail  our  ways,  will 
find  a  means  of  making  travel  to  these  mines  as  easy  as  to  any 
others,  and  the  scenery  of  the  route  is  magnificent. 

As  I  have  endeavored  to  classify  the  other  productions  of  th>i 
State  somewhat  by  counties,  it  may  not  be  without  interest  to 
present  the  following  table  of  mineral  productions  by  counties, 
which  I  borrow  chiefly  from  statistics  published  by  the  State 
Board  of  Ap-viculture. 


Baker. — Gold  in  quartz  and  pladers,  silver  in  I'^des,  copper  (native),  coal(?), 
building-st'ines,  nickel  ore,  limestone  and  marble,  cinnaba.". 

Benton. — Coal,  building-stone;.,  gold  in  bcacb  sands,  iTO\  pjritcs 

14 


210 


ATLANTIS  AEISEN. 


Clackamas. — Iron  ore  and  ochres,  gold  in  quartz  lodes,  copper  ores,  build- 
ing-stones, galena,  coal. 

Clatsop. — Coal,  potters'  clay,  iron  ore,  and  jet. 

Columbia. — Iron  ore,  coal,  salt  springs,  manganese  ore. 

Coos. — Coal,  gold  in  beach  sand,  stream  plac3rs,  and  quartz  lodes,  plati- 
num and  iridosmine,  brick-clays,  chrome  iron,  magnetic  sands  (auriferous). 

Crook. — Gold  in  p'  icers  and  ledges,  opal,  building-stones,  coal,  mica,  chalk, 
moss-agate,  iron  and  copper  ores. 

Curry. — Iron  ore,  gold  in  stream  placers  an^.  beach  sands,  platinum  and 
iridosmine,  chrome  iron  ore,  silver(?),  coal(?),  br.iate  oi"  lime,  building- 
stones. 

Douglas. — Gold  in  lodes  and  placers,  nickel  =,  .  .  xsilver,  building- 
stones,  copper,  native  and  ore  coal,  salt  springs,  natuia'  cen ent,  chrome  iron 
ore,  platinum,  and  iridosmine. 

Gilliam,. — Coal(?).  -■<■ 

Orant. — Gold  in  lodes  and  placers,  silver  in  lodes,  coa'.,  iron  ore. 

Jackson. — Gold  in  lodes  and  placers,  iron  ore,  quicksilver,  mineral  waters, 
graphite,  building-stonos,  coal,  limestone,  infusorial  earth. 

Josephine. — Gold  in  lodes  and  placers,  copper  ores,  heavy  spar,  limestone, 
and  marble. 

Klamath. — Mineral  waters.     ..:   .'  V^   e  ;    ,' ^  -   i  I  '" 

Lake. — Mineral  waters. 

Lane. — Gold  in  quartz  and  placers,  zinc  ores,  coal(?),  magnetic  iron  ore. 

Linn. — Gold  in  quartz  and  placers,  copper  ores,  galena,  zinc  blende. 

Malheur. — Nitrate  beds,  alkaline  salts. 

Marion. — Gold  and  silver  in  quartz,  limestone,  bog  iron  ore. 

Morrow. —  ■  " 

Multnomah. — Iron  ore,  building-stone.s. 

Polk. — Building-stones,  salt  sprinsrs,  mineral  waters,  iron  pjr:  »'  li  ro- 
stone. 

Tillamook. — Gold  in  beach  sands,  coal,  rock-salt,  iron  ores,  building-stones, 
iron  pyrifes. 

Umatilla. — G^ld  in  lodes  on  head-waters  of  Umatilla  Eiver,  placer^  on 
Columbia  River,  coal  and  iron  ore. 

Union. — Gold  in  lodes  and  placers,  silver  in  lodes,  hessite,  ochre. 

Wallowa.— (ioidi  in  lodes,  silver  in  lodes,      t^per,  building-stones. 

Wasco. — Mineral  waters.  - 

Washington. — 

Yamhill. — Mineral  springs,  iron  pyrites.  , 


rt^ 


THE   FORESTS   OF   THE   NORTHWEST. 


211 


CHAPTER   XVI. 


A  TALK  ABOUT  THE  FORESTS  OF  THE  NORTHWEST. 


s  on 


In  the  Northwest  the  forests  are  foand  nhnost  exclusively  on 
the  mountains.  Along  the  margins  of  streams  there  is  usually 
a  belt  of  timber  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  breadth ;  and  ci  Puget 
Sound  the  timber  reaches  from  the  mountains  down  to  this 
inland  sea,  the  same  as  on  the  outer  coast.  On  the  Columbia 
this  bolt,  even  on  the  low  grounds,  is  wide,  and,  as  there  is  a 
range  of  highlands  of  considerable  elevation  extending  from 
the  mouth  of  this  river  to  and  beyond  its  passage  through  the 
(-ascade  Mountains,  with  only  occasional  depression?-,  there  is  a 
great  body  of  timber  within  reach  of  tide-water. 

The  base  of  the  Joast  Mountains  on  the  west  comes  within 
two  to  six  miles  of  the  sea,  and  frequent  spurs  reach  quite  to 
the  beach,  forming  high  promoiitories.  From  the  coast  to  the 
eastern  base  of  the  Coast  Mountains  is  a  distance  of  from  twenty 
to  thirty  miles.  Allowing  for  the  margin  of  level  land  toward 
the  sea  and  for  openings  among  the  foot-hills  on  the  eastern  side, 
hei-e  is  an  immense  body  of  forest  lands  extending  the  whole 
length  of  the  State,  from  north  to  south. 

Again,  the  Cascade  Range  has  a  base  from  east  to  west  of 
about  forty  miles,  including  the  foot-hills.  All  the  west  side  of 
this  range  is  densely  wooded;  making  another  great  supply  of 
timber.  The  east  side,  having  an  entirely  diflFerent  climate,  does 
not  support  the  same  heavy  growth  of  trees. 

These  forests  furnish  a  most  interesting  study  to  the  botanist 
Bemnning  our  observations  on  the  coast,  we  find  that  near  the 
sea  we  have,  for  the  characteristic  tree,  the  black  spruce  (Abies 
Menziesii).  It  grows  to  a  diameter  of  eight  feet,  and  to  a  con- 
siderable height,  though  not  the  tallest  of  the  spruces.  Its 
branches  commence  about  thirty  feet  from  the  ground,  growing 
densely,  while  its  leaves,  unlike  the  other  species,  grow  all 
round  the  twig.  The  foliage  is  dai'k  green  with  a  bluish  cast. 
The  bark  is  reddish  and  scaly,  and  the  cones,  which  grow  near 
the  ends  of  the  branches,  are  about  two  inches  in  length,  and 


t; 


212 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


purplish  in  color.  In  appearance  it  resembles  the  Norway 
spruce.  It  loves  a  moist  climate  and  soil,  growing  on  brackish 
marshes  and  inundated  islands.  The  timber  is  used  in  making 
packing-boxes  for  fruit,  as  it  has  no  strong  flavor  like  the  fir. 

The  Oregon  cedar  {Thuya  gigantea)  grows  very  abundantly 
near  the  coast.  This  tree  attains  to  a  very  great  size,  being 
often  from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  in  diameter,  but  is  not  so  high 
as  the  spruce.  The  branches  commence  about  twenty  feet  from 
the  ground.  Above  this  the  wood  is  exceedingly  knotty;  but 
the  lumber  obtained  from  the  clear  portion  of  the  trunk  is 
highly  valued  for  finishing  work  in  buildings,  as  it  is  light  and 
soft,  and  does  not  shrink  or  swell  like  spruce  lumber.  For 
shingles  and  rails  it  is  also  valuable,  from  its  durability. 

The  Indians  make  canoes  of  the  cedar  nearly  as  light  and 
elegant  as  the  famous  birch  canoes  of  more  northern  tribes. 
Formerly  they  built  houses  of  planks  split  out  of  cedar  with  no 
bettor  implement  than  a  stone  axe  and  wedge.  An  axeman  can 
rplit  enough  in  two  or  three  days  to  build  himself  a  cabin.  This 
tree  is  nearly  allied  to  the  arbor  vitce,  which  it  resembles  in  foli- 
age, having  its  leaves  in  flat  sprays  that  look  as  if  they  had  been 
pressed.  On  the  under  side  of  the  spray  is  a  cluster  of  small 
cones.  The  bark  is  thin,  and  peels  oif  in  long  strips  which  are 
used  by  the  Indians  to  make  matting,  and  a  kind  of  cloth  used 
for  mantles  to  shed  the  rain.  It  is  also  used  by  them  to  roof 
their  houses,  make  baskets,  etc.  Altogether,  it  is  the  most 
useful  tree  of  the  forest  to  the  native. 

Hemlock-spruce  (Abies  Canadensis)  is  next  in  abundance  near 
the  coast.  It  grows  much  taller  than  the  cedar,  often  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  has  a  diameter  of  from  six  to  eight 
feet.  The  color  is  lighter  and  tho  foliage  finer  than  that  which 
grows  in  the  Atlantic  States,  and  the  appearance  of  the  tree  is 
veiy  graceful  and  beautiful. 

Another  tree  common  to  the  coast  is  the  Oregon  yew  {Taxus 
brevifolia).  It  is  not  very  abundant,  grows  to  a  height  of 
thirty  feet,  and  flourishes  best  in  dump  woods  and  marshy  situ- 
ations. The  wood  is  very  tough,  and  u.sed  by  the  Indians  for 
arrows.  When  much  exposed  to  the  sun,  in  open  plaetis,  the 
foliage  takes  on  a  faded,  reddish  appearance.  It  bears,  a  small, 
sweet,  coral-red  berry,  of  which  the  birds  are  verj'  fond. 


-fil 


THE   FORESTS  OF   THE  NORTHWEST. 


213 


A  few  trees  of  the  red  fir  (Abies  Douglassii)  occur  in  the  Coast 
Mountains,  but  are  not  common  ;  also  an  occasional  white  spruce 
(Abies  taxifolia),  and  north  of  the  Columbia  small  groves  of  a 
scrub-pine  (P.  contorta)  appear  on  sandy  pi-airies  near  the  sea- 
beach.  It  grows  onl)-  about  forty  feet  high,  and  has  a  diameter 
of  two  feet. 

Of  the  broad-leaved,  deciduous  trees  which  grow  near  the 
coast,  the  white  miiple  (Acer  macrophyllum)  is  the  most  beauti- 
ful and  useful.  It  grows  and  decays  rapidly, — the  mature  tree 
attaining  to  the  height  of  eighty  feet,  and  a  diameter  of  six 
feet;  then  decaying  from  the  centre  outward,  lets  its  branches 
die  and  fall  off,  while  from  the  root  other  new  trunks  spring  up 
and  attain  a  considerable  size  in  four  or  five  years.  The  wood 
has  a  beautiful  grain,  and  is  valuable  for  cabinet  manufactures, 
taking  a  high  polish.  The  foliage  is  handsome,  being  very 
broad  and  of  a  light  green.  In  the  spring  long  racemes  of 
yellow  flowers  give  the  tree  a  beautiful  and  ornamental  appear- 
ance, which  make'  it  sought  for  as  a  shade-tree. 

The  Oregon  alder  (Almis  -Oregona)  is  another  cabinet-wood  of 
considerable  value.  The  tree  grows  to  a  height  of  sixty  feet, 
with  a  diameter  of  two  or  three  feet.  It  has  a  whitish-gray 
bai'k,  and  foliage  much  resembling  the  elm.  On  short  stems, 
near, the  ends  of  the  branches,  are  clusters  of  very  small  cones, 
not  more  than  an  inch  in  length.  When  grown  in  open  places, 
with  sufficient  moisture,  it  is  a  graceful  and  beauf^ul  tree. 

Three  species  of  poplar  are  found  near  the  coast, — the  cotton- 
wood  (Populus  MoniUfera),  the  quaking  asp,  Populus  Tremuloides, 
and  the  balsam-tree  (or  P.  Angustifolia).  They  are  found  on  the 
borders  of  streams  and  by  the  side  of  ponds  or  springs,  but  not 
so  abundant  near  the  coast  as  east  of  the  Coast  Mountains. 

Along  the  banks  of  ci'ceks  and  rivers  grows  one  kind  of  willow 
(Salix  Scouleriana),  about  thirty  feet  in  height,  and  not  more 
than  a  foot  in  diameter,  with  broad,  oval  leaves ;  of  very  little 
value. 

The  vino-maple  (A.  Circinaturn)  is  more  a  shrub  than  a  tree, 
seldom  growing  more  than  six  to  twelve  inches  thick  near  the 
groupd,  and  not  more  than  twelve  to  twent}',  rarely  thirty,  feet 
in  height.  It  grows  in  prostrate  thickets,  in  shaded  places, 
twining  back  and  forth  and  in  every  direction.    The  wood  being 


' 


214 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


*:  Sl- 


veiy  tough,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  through  them ;  and 
they  form  one  of  the  most  serious  obstructions  to  surveying  or 
hunting  in  the  mountains.  The  leaf  is  parted  in  seven  dentated 
points,  and  is  of  a  light  green.  These  bushes  make  a  handsome 
thicket  at  any  lime  from  early  spring  to  late  autumn,  being 
ornamented  with  small  red  flowers  in  spring  and  with  brilliant 
scarlet  leaves  in  autumn. 

Another  shrubby  tree^  which  makes  dense  ti>ickets  in  low 
or  overflowed  lands,  is  the  Oregon  crab-apple  {Pyrus  Rivularis). 
This  really  pretty  tree  grows  in  groves  twenty  feet  in  height, 
and  so  clo.sely  as  with  its  tough,  thorny  branches  to  form  im- 
penetrable barriers  against  any  but  the  smaller  animals  of  the 
forest.  The  fruit  is  small  and  good-flavored,  growing  in  clusters. 
The  tree  is  a  good  one  to  graft  upon,  being  hardy  and  fine- 
grained. 

Another  tree  used  to  graft  on  is  the  wild  cherry  (^Cerasiis 
Mollis),  which  closely  resembles  the  cultivated  kinds,  except  in 
its  small  and  bitter  fruit.  In  open  places  it  becomes  a  branch- 
ing, handsome  shade-tree,  but  in  damp  ravines  sometimes  shoots 
up  seventy'  feet  high,  having  its  foliage  all  near  the  top. 

When  we  undertake  to  pierce  the  woods  of  the  Coast  Moun- 
tains, we  find,  in  the  first  place,  the  gi'ound  covered  as  thickly 
as  they  can  stand  with  trees  from  three  to  fourteen  feet  in 
diameter,  and  from  seventy  to  thi'co  hundred  feet  in  height. 
Wherever  there  is  room  made  by  deca}-,  or  fire,  or  tempest, 
springs  up  another  thicker  growth,  of  which  the  most  fortu 
nately  located  will  live,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  others.  Every 
ravine,  cieek,  margin,  or  springy  piece  of  ground  is  densely 
covered  with  vine-maple,  cotton-wood,  or  crab-apple. 

As  if  these  were  not  enough  for  the  soil  to  support,  every 
interstice  is  filled  with  shrubs,  some  tough  and  wood}-,  others 
of  the  vining  and  thorny  description.  Of  shrubs,  the  sallal 
(Gaultheria  Shallo7i)  is  most  abundant.  It  varies  greatly  in 
height,  growing  seven  or  eight  feet  tall  near  the  coast,  and  only 
two  or  three  in  the  forest.  The  stem  is  reddish,  the  leaves 
glossy,  green,  and  oval,  and  the  flower  piak.  It.s  fruit  is  a  berry 
of  which  the  Indians  are  very  fond,  tasting  much  like  summer- 
apple.     This  shrub  is  an  evergreen. 

Three  varieties  of  huckleberries  belong  to  the  same  range, — 


THE  FORESTS   OF  THE  NORTHWEST. 


215 


one,  an  evergreen,  having  fruit  and  flowers  at  the  same  time. 
This  is  the  Vaccinium  Ovatum,  with  leaves  like  a  myrtle,  and  a 
black,  rather  sweet  berry.  The  second  has  a  very  slender  stalk, 
SLiall,  deciduous  leaves,  and  small  acid  berries  of  a  bright  scarlet 
color.  This  is  V.  Ovalifolium.  The  third — V.  Parvifolium — 
resembles  more  the  huckleberry  of  the  Eastern  States,  and  bears 
a  rather  acid  blueberry.  In  favored  localities  these  ai'o  as  fine 
as  those  varieties  which  grow  in  Massachusetts  or  Michigan. 
In  addition  to  these  is  a  kind  of  false  huckleberry,  bearing  no 
fruit;  and  a  species  of  barberry,  resembling  that  found  in  New 
England. 

Of  gooseberries  there  are  also  three  varieties,  none  of  them 
producing  very  good  fruit.  They  are  Bibes  Laxiflorum,  J5r.  ''e- 
oseum,  and  Lacustre. 

The  salmon-berry  {Rubus  Spectabilis)  is  abundant  on  high 
banks  and  in  openings  in  the  forest.  It  resembles  the  yellow 
raspberry 

Of  plants  that  creep  on  the  ground  there  are  several  varieties, 
some  of  them  remarkably  pretty.  Of  wild  roses,  spircea,  wood- 
bine, mock-orange,  thorn-bushes,  and  other  familiar  shrubs,  there 
are  plenty. 

The  devil's  walking-stick  (Echinophanax  horridum)  is  a  shrub 
deserving  of  mention.  It  grows  to  the  height  of  six  feet,  in  a 
single,  thorny,  green  stem,  and  bears  at  the  top  a  bunch  of 
broad  leaves,  resembling  those  of  the  white  maple.  When  en- 
countered in  dark  thickets  it  is  sui-e  to  make  itself  felt,  if  not 
seen.  Add  to  all  that  has  gone  before,  great  ferns, — from  two 
to  fourteen  feet  in  height,  with  tough  stems,  and  roots  far  in  the 
ground, — and  we  have  the  eai'th  pretty  much  covered  from  sun 
and  light. 

These  are  the  productions,  in  general,  of  the  most  western 
forests  of  Oregon.  When  we  try  lu  penetrate  such  tropical 
jungles,  we  wonder  that  any  animals  of  much  size — like  the 
elk,  deer,  bear,  panther,  and  cougar — get  through  them.  Nor 
do  all  these  inhabit  the  thickest  portions  of  the  forest,  but  the 
elk,  deer,  and  bear  keep  near  the  occasional  small  prairies  which 
occur  in  the  mountains,  and  about  the  edges  of  clearings  among 
the  foot-hills,  except  when  driven  by  foar  to  hide  in  the  dark 
recesses  of  the  woods.     In  the  fall  of  the  vear,  when  the  acorn 


! 


n1 


216 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


crop  is  good  in  the  valley  between  the  Coast  and  Cascade  Moun- 
tains, great  nuuiberrt  of  the  black  bear  are  killed  by  the  farmers 
who  live  neur  the  mountains. 

As  this  region  just  described  is,  so  is  the  whole  mountain 
system  of  West  Oregon  and  Washington.  Along  the  eastern 
slope  of  the  Coast  Eange,  around  Puget  Sound,  along  the  Co- 
lumbia highlands  above  a  point  forty  miles  from  its  mouth,  and 
on  the  western  slope  of  tbo  Cascades,  the  same  luxuriance  of 
growth  prevails.  Indeed,  nearly  all  the  trees  enumerated — the 
black  spruce  and  scrub-pine  are  exceptions — belong  equally  to 
the  more  eastern  region.     And  the  same  of  the  shrubs. 

But  in  this  more  eastern  portion  grovv  some  trees  that  will  not 
flourish  in  the  soil  and  climate  of  the  coast.  Of  these  the  most 
important  is  the  red  fir  (Abies  Douglassii).  Very  extensive 
forests  of  it  inhabit  the  mountain-sides  and  Columbia  Elver 
highlands.  It  grows  to  a  great  height,  its  branches  commencing 
fifty  feet  from  the  ground.  The  bark  is  thick  and  deeply  fur- 
rowed, the  leaves  rather  coarse,  and  the  cone  is  distinguished 
from  other  species  by  having  three-pointed  bracts  between  the 
scales. 

The  red  fir  is  more  used  for  lumber  than  any  other  kind, 
though  it  is  of  a  coarse  grain  and  shrinks  very  much.  It  is 
tough  and  durable  if  kept  dry.  It  is  a  very  resinous  wood, 
from  which  cause  large  tracts  of  it  are  burnt  off  every  year. 
Yet  it  keeps  fire  so  badly  in  the  coals  that  tljere  is  little 
danger  of  the  cinders  carrying  fire  when  buildings  constructed 
of  it  are  burned  :  it  goes  out  before  it  alights. 

The  yellow  fir  (^4.  Grandis)  is  also  a  tree  which  does  not  like 
sea-air,  and  is  very  valuable  for  lumber.  It  is  distinguishable  at 
a  distance  b}'^  its  superior  height,  often  over  three  hundred  feet, 
and  by  the  short  branches  of  the  top,  which  give  it  a  cylindri- 
cal shape.  It  is  admirably  adapted  for  masts  and  spars,  being 
fine-grained,  tough,  and  elastic.  The  best  of  lumber  is  made 
from  this  fir,  and  large  quantities  of  it  a'  exported  from  the 
Columbia  River.  The  bark  of  the  yellow  fir  is  smoother  and 
not  so  deeply  furrowed  as  the  red,  and  the  oval  cone  is  destitute 
of  bracts. 

The  other  species  of  fir  are  Abies  ccncolor,  called  white  fir  in 
California,  and  found  in   the   mountains  south  of   the  Three 


THE   FORESTS   OF   THE   NORTHWEST. 


217 


Sisters;  Abies  nobilis,  inhabiting  the  mountains  at  an  elevation 
of  three  thousand  to  five  thousand  feet ;  Abies  amabilia,  or  lovely 
fir,  the  most  beautiful  of  its  genus;  and  Abies  sub-alpina,  a 
mountain  tree.  The  hemlocks  are  the  mountain  hemlock, 
known  as  Abies  Williamsonii  and  Pattoniana.  Sitka  cedar,  Cu- 
pressus  nutkaensis,  is  found  at  the  base  of  Mount  Hood ;  and 
Libocedrus  decurrens,  thick-barked  cedar,  from  Santiam  Eiver 
southward. 

Of  foliaceous  trees  not  found  on  the  coast,  is  the  oak  (Querciis 
jarryana),  which  does  not  attain  a  very  great  size,  not  growing 
more  than  fifty  feet  high,  except  in  rich,  alluvial  lands,  where 
it  attains  fine  dimensions.  Another  and  smaller  scrub-oak 
{Quercus  Kelloggii)  is  common,  and  the  wood  is  good  for  axe- 
helves,  hoops,  and  similar  uses.  The  wood  of  the  larger  variety 
is  used  for  making  staves,  and  the  bark  for  tanning. 

Of  all  the  trees  growing  along  water-courses,  the  Oregon  ash 
{Fraxiiius  Oregona)  is  the  most  beautiful.  In  size  it  compares 
closely  with  the  white  maple.  Its  foliage  is  of  a  light  yellow- 
green,  the  leaves  being  a  narrow  oval.  Like  the  maple,  it  has 
clusters  of  whitish-yellow  flowers,  which  add  greatly  to  its 
grace  and  delicacy  of  coloring.  The  wood  is  fine-grained,  and 
is  useful  for  manufacturing  purposes. 

A  little  back  from  the  river,  j-et  quite  near  it,  we  find  the 
Oregon  dogwood  (Cornus  Nuttalii).  It  is  a  much  handsomer  tree 
than  the  dogwood  of  the  Atlantic  States,  making,  when  in  full 
flower  and  in  favored  situations,  as  fine  a  display  of  broad, 
silvery-white  blossoms  as  the  magnolia  of  the  Southern  States. 
As  an  ornamental  tree  it  cannot  be  surpassed,  having  a  fresh 
charm  each  season,  from  the  white  blossoms  of  spring  to  the 
pink  leaves  of  late  summer  and  the  scarlet  berries  of  autumn. 
Its  ordinary  height  is  thirty  or  forty  feet,  but  in  moist  ravines 
and  thick  woods  it  stretches  up  towards  the  light  until  it  is 
seventy  feet  high. 

A  very  ornamental  wild  cherry,  peculiar  to  Oregon  —a  species 
of  choke-cherry — is  found  near  water-courses.  The  flowers  are 
ari'anged  in  cylindrical  racemes  of  the  length  of  three  or  four 
inches,  are  white,  and  very  fragrant.  It  flowers  early  in  tho 
spring,  at  the  sai-ie  time  with  the  service-berry,  when  the  woody 
thickets  along  the  rivers  are  gleaming  with  their  snowy  sprays. 


•J- 


'I 


•  r 


ti   ; 


218 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


r  ■       0 


A  broad-leaved  evergreon  is  the  arbutus  (A.  Menziesii),  com- 
monly called  laurel,  which  is  found  in  the  forests  of  the  middle 
region  from  Puget  Sound,  north  of  the  Columbia,  to  California 
and  Mexico.  In  Spanish  countries  it  is  known  as  the  madrono- 
tree.  The  trunk  is  from  one  foot  to  four  feet  in  thickness,  and 
when  old  is  generally  twisted.  The  bark  undergoes  a  change 
of  color  annually  ;  the  old,  dark,  mahogany-colored  bark  scaling 
off,  as  the  new,  bright,  cinnamon-colored  one  replaces  it.  Tho 
leaves  are  a  long  oval,  of  a  bright,  rich  green,  and  glossy.  It 
flowers  in  the  spring,  and  bears  scarlet  berries  in  autumn  re- 
sembling those  of  the  mountain-ash.  Altogether,  it  is  one  of 
the  handsomest  of  American  trees. 

White  oak,  Quercus  garryana,  is  common  to  all  parts  of  West 
Oregon  and  Washington,  but  the  Quercus  Kelloggii,  or  black  oak, 
is  confined  to  the  southern  and  middle  counties  of  Oregon. 
Mountain-ash,  Pyrus  sambucifolia,  a  beautiful  ornamental  tree, 
is  a  native  of  the  sub-alpine  ranges.  Chittim-wood  or  be».i*- 
l:  ycvy,  Rhamnua  pursh'ana,  a  shrubby  tree  growing  in  the  valleys, 
furnishes  a  bark  whicu  ib  an  article  of  commerce,  being  exten- 
sively used  in  the  })reparation  of  cathartic  and  tonic  medicines. 

A  very  peculiar  and  ornamental  shrub  is  the  holly-leaved  bar- 
berry (^Berberis  aquifolium).  It  has  rather  a  vining  stalk,  from 
two  to  eight  feet  high,  with  leaves  shaped  like  holly  leaves,  but 
arranged  in  two  rows,  on  stems  of  eight  or  ten  inches  in  length. 
It  is  an  evergreen,  although  it  seems  to  cast  off  some  of  its 
foliage  in  the  fall  to  renew  it  in  the  spring.  While  preparing  to 
fall,  the  leaves  take  the  most  brilliant  hues  of  any  in  the  forest, 
and  shine  as  if  varnished.  The  fruit  is  a  small  cluster  of  very 
acid  berries,  of  a  dark,  bluish  purple,  about  the  size  of  the  wild 
grape,  from  which  it  takes  its  vulgar  name  of  "Oregon  grape." 

In  damp  places  away  from  the  rivers  grows  the  rose  colored 
spircea  (S.  Douglassii),  in  close  thickets ;  it  is  commonly  known 
as  hardback.  Near  such  swamps  are  others  of  wild  roses  of 
several  varieties,  all  beautiful. 

I  am  not  able  to  give  the  names  of  all  the  numerous  kinds  of 
trees  and  shrubs  which  grow  in  close  proximity  in  the  forests 
of  the  Northwest,  although  I  have  been  at  some  trouble  to  do 
so.  Beginning  at  the  river's  brink,  we  have  willows,  from  the 
red  cornel,  whose  crimson  stems  are  so  beautiful,  to  the  coarse, 


THE   FORESTS  OF  THE   NORTHWEST. 


219 


broad-leaved  G.  pubescens,  ash,  cotton-wood,  and  balsam-poplar. 
On  the  low  ground  are  roses,  crab-applo,  buckthorn,  wild  cherry ; 
a  little  higher,  service-berry,  wild  cherry  again,  red-flowering 
currant,  white  spircea,  mock-orange,  honeysuckle,  low  blackberry, 
raspberry,  dogwood,  arbutus,  barberry,  snowborry,  hazel,  elder, 
and  alder.  Gradually  mixing  with  these,  as  they  leave  the  lino 
of  high  water,  begin  the  various  firs,  which  will  not  grow  with 
their  roots  in  watei-.  As  the  forest  increases  in  density  the 
flowering  shrubs  disappear,  to  reappear  at  the  first  opening. 
The  blue  elder  becomes  a  handsome  tree  forty  feet  in  height  in 
the  Columbia  region,  and  two  other  varieties,  with  red  and  yellow 
berries,  arc  highly  ornamental. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  beauty  of  such 
masses  of  luxuriant  and  flowering  shrubbery  covering  the  shores 
of  the  streams.  Even  the  great  walls  of  basalt  which  are  fre- 
quently exposed  along  the  Columbia  are  so  overgrown  with 
minute  ferns,  and  vivid-green  mosses  and  vines,  as  to  be  much 
more  beautiful  and  picturesque  than  they  are  forbidding. 

In  the  Southern  Oregon  forests  one  finds  some  trees  and 
shrubs  not  found  in  the  Wallamet  division  of  Oregon,  nor  in  that 
part  of  Washington  drained  towai'ds  the  Columbia, — namely,  the 
mj'rtle,  Umbellularia  Californica  (preodaphne),  a  beautiful  tree 
with  glossy  foliage,  and  one  hundred  feet  in  height ;  Port  Orford 
cedar,  Cupressus  lawsoniana  {chamcecyparis),  one  of  the  most 
valuable  trees  of  commerce,  growing  two  hundred  feet  high ; 
redwood  (Sequoia  semper virens),  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in 
height ;  nutmeg,  resemblin'^  the  myrtle,  and  found  in  the  same 
habitat,  bearing  a  smalk  i-vli  than  that  of  commerce.  In  the 
southern  valleys  the  live-oak  (Quercus  chrysolepis),  chestnut-oak 
(Quercus  densiflora) ;  on  the  foot-hills  of  the  Cascade  Range,  the 
chinquapin  {Castanopsis  chrysophylla),  sugar-pine  {Pinus  lamber- 
tina),  a  magnificent  tree,  two  hundi'ed  and  fifty  feet  in  height, 
bearing  cones  eighteen  inches  in  length,  and  having  a  sweet  and 
viscid  sap,  which  when  dry  i-esembles  sugar ;  and  Pinus  tuber- 
culata,  a  small  tree  found  in  patches.  The  flowering  shrubs  of 
Southern  Oregon,  not  common  to  the  Columbia  and  Wallamet 
regions,  are  the  manzanita  (Arctostaphylos  pungens),  blue  spiraea, 
found  on  the  Umpqua  and  at  Coos  B&y,  and  the  Rhododendron 
maximus,  found  there  and  also  on  the  foot-hills  of  the  Cascades. 


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220 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


It  is  a  singular  fact  that  this  beautiful  shrub  reappears  as  far 
north  as  Port  Townsond,  w  hile  it  avoids  intermediate  country 
in  both  Oregon  and  Washington. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  Cascades  and  on  the  Blue  Mountains, 
the  trees  not  common  to  the  whole  State  are  the  larch,  or  tama- 
rack  (^Larix  occidentalis),  used  for  lumber ;  Larix  lyallii,  a  small 
larch ;  Pinus  albicaulis,  a  mountain  pine ;  Pinus  monticola,  or 
silver  pino ;  mountain  mahogany,  Cercocarpus  ledifoUus ;  Juni- 
pens  occidentalis,  mountain  juniper;  and  along  the  stroivms  in  . 
East  Oi-egon  and  "Washington  a  ttmall  birch,  Betula  occidentalis, 
the  box-elder,  and  the  sumach.  Doubtless  some  lew  trees  and 
many  shrubs  have  escaped  notice,  but  the  omissions  are  unim- 
portant. All  that  is  hero  said  of  Oregon  nlies  equally  to 
Washington,  where  Puget  Sound  might  bt  '  for  Columbia 

Eiver,  while  the  trees  of  the  mountain  raui^v..  and  soa-cuast  are 
the  same  in  both  States,  with  some  local  exceptions,  such  as  that 
of  the  Port  Orford  cedar. 

Washington  contains  more  largo  bodies  of  timber  standing  on 
level  ground  than  Oregon  does.  An  immense  extent  of  fir  and 
cedar  forest  encircles  the  whole  sound  and  borders  all  the  rivers, 
besides  that  which  is  found  on  the  foot-hills  of  the  Cascade  and 
Coast  ranges.  It  is  estimated  that  three-fourths  of  West  Wash- 
ington is  covered  with  forest,  a  large  proportion  of  which  is  the 
finest  timber  in  the  world,  for  size  and  durability.  It  is  nothing 
unusual  to  find  u  piece  of  several  thousand  acres  of  fir,  averaging 
three  and  a  half  feet  in  diameter  at  the  stump,  and  standing 
two  hundred  feet  without  a  limb,  the  top  being  seventy  feet 
higher.  Three  hundred  feet  is  not  an  extraordinary  growth  in 
Washington.  It  is  estimated  that  the  area  of  forest  land  in 
Oregon  and  Washington  covers  sixty-five  thousand  square  miles. 
Not  all  of  this  timber  is  accessible,  nor  all  of  it  valuable  for 
market,  and  yet  the  quantity  is  immense  that  is  marketable. 
Some  day  it  will  all  be  found  fit  for  lumber-making,  but  at  pres- 
ent only  the  largest  and  straightest  trees  are  sawed  up,  and  those 
in  a  very  wasteful  manner,  a  great  deal  being  thrown  away  and 
burned  up,  except  in  East  Washington,  where,  timber  being 
scarce  and  the  mills  located  in  the  mountains,  slab  and  unmar- 
ketable lumber  is  cut  up  into  firewood. 

The  mills  of  Oregon  m.inufafture  about  one  hundred  and 


MM  If 


THE    F0UEST8   OF   THK   NORTHWKST. 


221 


Hovonly  million  feet  of  liiml)er  annuiilly ;  those  of  Pugot  Sound 
and  tho  East  Washington  mills,  one  billion  foot.  Most  of  the 
Oregon  production  is  eonrtumed  at  home,  while  the  Washington 
output  is  very  largely  exported. 

Tho  kinds  of  timber  adapted  to  lumbering  purposes  are  known 
as  the  red,  white,  and  yellow  fir,  cetlar,  hemlock,  and,  in  some 
localities,  pine  and  larch.  The  red  fir  constitutes  the  great  bulk 
of  common  lumber;  tlie  yellow  fir  is  used  where  strength  and 
elasticity  are  required,  tm  in  spars  of  vessels,  piles,  wharves, 
bridges,  and  liouse-buildiiig ;  and  cedar  for  foundations  of  houses, 
fence-posts,  and  inside  finishing  of  houses. 

The  cabinet-woods  are  maple,  alder,  and  arbutus.  There  is 
oak  for  stu'  h  and  other  purposes  ;  but  nothing  that  answers  for 
wagon-making  grows  on  those  mountains.  Hemlock  becomes 
valuable  as  furnishing  bark  for  tanning  leather.  Ash  is  used 
for  some  mechanical  purposes,  and  makes  excellent  firewood. 

The  red  fir,  being  very  resinous,  might  be  made  valuable 
for  its  pitch.  Oregon  turpentine  is  of  superior  quality,  but, 
owing  to  the  high  freights  and  high  rates  of  labor  on  this  coast, 
has  not  heretofore  proved  profitable  as  an  export.  It  is  common 
to  find  a  deposit  of  dried  pitch  or  resin  in  the  trunks  of  large  fir- 
trees — especially  those  that  have  grown  on  rocky  soil — of  one 
to  two  inches  in  thickness,  either  forming  a  layer  quite  round 
the  heart  of  the  tree  or  extending  for  fifty  feet  up  through  the 
tree  in  a  square  "  stick." 

Trees  that  have  been  destroyed  by  fire  have  their  roots  soaked 
full  of  black  pitch  or  tar,  and  even  the  branches  of  growing 
trees  drop  little  globules  of  clear  white  pitch  on  the  ground. 
This  wood  makes  excellent  charcoal,  in  the  burning  of  which 
a  great  deal  of  tar  might  be  saved  by  providing  for  its  being 
run  off  from  the  pit.  There  is  also  plenty  of  willow  wood  for 
making  charcoal  growing  on  all  the  bottom-lands.  Fires  ai*e 
permitted  to  destroy  much  fine  timber  every  year,  settlers  being 
unable  to  remove  the  heavy  growth  by  any  other  means. 


hP  .JP 


222 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


Hi 


CHAPTER    XVI I. 


ABOUT   THE   BOTANY   OP  THE   N0RTHWF8T. 


j! 


1. 


Many  of  the  flowering  shrubs  of  Oregon  and  Washington 
have  already  been  mentioned  in  the  chapter  on  forests.  One  of 
the  first  to  blossom  is  the  red  flowering  currant  (Ribes  sanguine- 
rum),  which  puts  forth  its  flowers  before  its  leaves  are  fully 
expanded,  like  the  Judas-tree  of  the  Missouri  Vallo}',  which  it 
resembles  in  color.  There  appear  to  be  two  or  three  varieties 
of  this  species,  as  the  color  varies  from  a  pale  rose-color  to  si 
full  crimson.  Tha  flower  is  arranged  in  clusters  upon  a  slender 
stem  like  the  green  I'lussoms  of  the  garden  currant,  but  is  much 
larger,  and  of  a  dlfl'erent  dhape.  The  bush  is  nighly  oriiamcntal 
when  in  blossom,  and  generally  introduced  into  gardens  for  deco- 
ration. It  flowers  in  March.  East  of  the  CascadeLi  is  a  ycll-^w 
species  very  similar.  Both  of  these  grow  near  streams,  and  in 
the  edge  of  the  forest. 

Of  the  spircea  there  are  sevei^al  specks.  Tlie  wax-berry,  with 
its  tiny  pink  flowers  and  delicate  leaves,  Is  found  in  bottom-lands 
and  on  river-banks.  In  autumn  the  bottoms  of  lup  Columbia 
furnish  thickets  of  wax-berries  which,  gro\ying  side  by  side  with 
the  wild  roses,  make  a  pretty  contrast  to  the  crimson  capsules 
of  the  latter.  In  higher  ground,  yet  subject  to  overflow,  is 
found  the  Spircea  tomentosa ,  or  hardback,  as  it  is  commonly  called, 
which  grows  in  thickets  and  bears  a  duster  of  a  purplish-pink 
color.  But  the  most  beautiful  of  the  spirceaa  is  the  kind  known 
as  sea-foam  (^S.  aricefolia),  which  its  great  creamy-white  clusters 
really  resemble.  This  grows  along  the  river-banks  and  in  the 
shade  of  the  forest's  edge,  and  blooms  in  Juno  and  July,  accord- 
ing to  its  locality.  It  sometimes  grows  to  a  height  of  twenty 
feet  in  the  shade,  though  usually  about  five  or  six  feet  high. 
The  stems  are  very  delicate,  like  all  the  spirceas,  and  bend  most 
gracefully  with  the  weight  of  the  clusters. 

Side  by  side,  usually,  with  the  last-named  spircea  is  the  beauti- 
ful mock-orange  {Philadelphus),  with  its  silvery-white  flowerd 
crowding  the  delicate  green  leaves  out  of  sight.     Throughout 


THE   BOTANY   OF   THE   NORTHWEST 


223 


Oregon  this  shrub  is  called  syringa,  to  which  family  it  does  not 
belong.     It  is  very  ornamental,  and  blooms  in  Juno  and  July. 

Of  wild  roses  there  are  several  sjiecies  and  many  varieties, 
from  the  dainty  little  "  dime  rose,"  of  a  palo  pink  color,  to  the 
large  and  fragrant  crimson  rose  which  grows  in  overflowed 
ground.  There  are  always  some  roses  to  be  found  from  June 
to  December.  It  is  usual  to  find  the  shrubs  here  mentioned 
growing  in  close  proximity;  and  these,  with  the  flowers  of  the 
woodbine  {Lonicera  Occidentalis),  and  the  blossoms  of  various 
kinds  of  wild  fruit  trees,  make  a  perfect  tangle  of  bloom  and 
sweetness  along  the  river-banks  in  .mmmer. 

We  have  elsewhere  spoken  of  the  dogwood,  which  is  as  hand- 
some as  a  magnolia-tree  when  in  blossom,  and  of  the  wild  cherries 
and  other  fruits  whose  flowers  are  sweet  and  beautiful.  The 
Oregon  grape,  or  holly-leaved  barberry,  bears  a  flower  that  is 
very  ornamental,  of  a  bright  yellow  color,  in  clusters  a  finger 
long.  The  leaves  of  this  sh>'ub  are  also  very  beautiful,  which 
makes  it  desirnble  to  cultivate.  Its  fruit  is  ripe  in  August,  and 
is  of  a  bluish-purple,  like  the  damson  plum. 

In  Southern  Oregon,  the  Rhododendron  maximmn  is  one  of  the 
glories  of  the  mountain-tops,  with  its  immense  branches  of  rose- 
colored  flowers.  It  is  occasionally  seen  in  gardens.  The  buft- 
colored  Azalea  occidentalis  is  also  confined  to  the  southern  and 
eastern  portions  of  Oregon.  It  is  sa'd  that  the  clematis  grows 
east  of  the  Cascades,  but  we  have  not  seen  it ;  and  also  the  ^\ex- 
leaved  mahonia.  The  wild  gra\\e  (Vitis  Californica)  is  another 
sbrub  or  vi.  which  is  confined  to  the  southern  portion  of  Ore- 
gon. In  the  Eogue  Eiver  Valley,  in  October,  it  is  a  striking 
ornament  in  the  landscape,  the  foliage  being  turned  a  rich 
ruby-red  color,  and  forming  clumps  upon  the  ground  or  hang- 
ing pendent  from  way-side  trees.  It  does  not  seem,  however,  to 
furnish  much  fruit. 

Of  field  flowers  there  are  a  great  many  in  all  pans  of  Oregon 
and  Washington,  beginning  witli  ilie  early  spring  to  beautify 
the  earth,  and  kind  succeeding  kind  throughout  the  summer  and 
autumn.  There  are,  especially  near  the  Columbia,  where  the 
soil  which  covers  the  rocks  is  often  a  thin,  black  mould,  countless 
varieties  and  species  of  very  minute  flowers,  so  small  frequently 
as  to  need  a  microscope  to  analyze  them  successfully,  but  of 


III! 


224 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


I  have  found  within  the  range  of  an 


lovely  shapes  and  colore 

acre  forty  kinds  of  flowering  plants  in  the  month  of  July,  half 

of  them  of  this  minute  size. 

Of  the  plants  peculiar  to  the  Northwest  which  bear  handsome 
flowers  the  Camas  family  isprominert.  The  Camasia  escidenta, 
or  edible  camas,  of  whose  roots  the  Indians  make  bread,  grows 
about  eighteen  inches  high,  and  bears  at  top  a  bunch  of  star- 
shaped  flowers,  of  a  beautiful  lavender  color,  with  a  golden 
centre.  The  leaves  grow  from  the  root,  and  are  lanceolate.  The 
places  where  they  are  most  abundant  usually  are  called  '■  Camas 
prairies,"  and  they  form  a  feature  of  Eastern  Oregon  and  Idaho. 
They  are  also  plentiful  in  Western  Oregon.  The  flowering 
season  is  about  the  middle  of  May  near  the  Lower  Columbia. 
There  are  several  species  of  the  camas,  one  of  which  is  poisonous. 

Only  a  very  thorough  and  industrious  botanist  could  enumer- 
ate the  flowering  plants  native  to  this  country.  Among  the 
most  useful  is  the  yellow  lupine,  which  with  the  white,  blue, 
and  purple  varieties  grows  abundantly  in  East  Oregon.  The 
yellow  variety  is  found  to  be  a  power  in  reclaiming  the  sandy 
wastes  where  it  is  sown.  The  seed  should  be  mixed  with  rye, 
which  grows  faster  and  protects  the  young  plant  from  the  en- 
ci'oachments  of  the  sand;  but  once  the  lupine  is  fairly" above 
the  ground  it  becomes  aggressive,  not  only  defending  itself,  but 
absorbing  the  life  of  the  rye.  In  the  autumn  the  lupine  sheds 
its  leaves,  which  form  a  pasty  muck  over  the  ground,  while  new 
ones  start  out;  and  this  it  does  for  five  years,  when  it  dies, 
having  fulfilled  its  mission.  The  ground  can  now  be  sown  with 
grass  and  harrowed,  when  the  grass  comes  up  richly,  and  the 
billowy  sand  waste  is  a  verdant  plain.  It  was  by  this  means  that 
the  military  reservation  and  Golden  Gate  Park  at  San  Francisco 
were  reclaimed.  The  same  method  might  be  applied  to  making 
the  sandy  Union  Pacific  Eailroad  line  along  the  upper  Columbia 
more  comfortable,  as  well  us  more  agreeable  to  the  eye. 

The  blue  iris,  familiar  to  all  observers  of  the  brook-side  in 
spring,  is  not  absent  here;  nor  the  purple  larkspur;  nor  the 
musk-plant,  Mimuhis  longiflorus ;  nor  the  Mimulus  luteus;  nor  yet 
the  buttercup,  Ranunculus  occidentalis.  Violets  blue  and  yellow 
embroider  the  verdant  earth-mantle,  and  anemone  detroidea 
shelters  itself  under  every  bush.     Running  over  the  ground  in 


THE   BOTANY   OF   THE   NORTHWEST. 


225 


the  open  woods  is  the  yerba  buena,  or  "good  herb,"  after  wnich 
San  Francisco  was  first  named.  It  bears  a  tiny  trumpet-shapeci 
flower  close  to  the  main  stem.  Botanists  call  it  Micromeria 
Bouglassi,  after  David  Douglass,  Oregon's  first  explorer  in  this 
field  of  science,  who  vas  killed  by  wild  cattle  on  otie  of  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  v,  iiilo  in  pursiiitof  nis  studies  of  plunis.  The 
early  settlors  used  its  aromatic  leaves  in  place  of  tea,  which 
caused  it  to  be  called  Oregon  tea.  Side  by  side  with  the  yerlia 
buena  is  the  twin-flower,  Linncea  borealis,  with  a  very  similar 
leaf,  vine,  and  flower,  except  that  it  supports,  upon  a  slender 
peduncle  two  inches  in  length,  a  pair  of  blossoms  instead  of  a 
single  one. 

The  red  columbine,  Aquilegia  formosa,  looks  quite  at  h<^vne 
among  the  ferns  in  woodsy  places  and  on  mossj'  banks  b^  the 
roadside ;  and  the  adder's-tongue  keeps  compan}'  with  the  anem- 
one among  the  bushes.  The  lilies,  golden  erythroniiim,  Lilium 
canadense,  and  Lilium  Washingtonium,  display  tlieir  royal  robes 
as  in  the  days  of  King  Solomon,  some  in  the  fence-corners,  some 
among  i  crrass  and  ferns  by  the  rivulet,  and  otherb  in  the 
grain-field^^  Tli.  Wasluagtonium  is  a  .a!  ve  of  the  Wallanut 
Valley.  When  it  fi -<t  opens  it  is  a  pure  white  dashed  with 
some  purple  pin  points  'f  color.  As  it  grows  to  be  a  day  or  so 
old  it  adds  a  pink  blush  to  its  whiteness,  and  in  another  day 
is  of  a  very  decided  pink,  so  that,  with  jveral  on  a  stalk  in  dif- 
ferent degrees  of  development,  t  offers  a  pleasing  range  of  coloi-. 
In  shape  it  resembles  the  tiget    \\y. 

The  California  poppy,  Eschseholtzia,  is  found  in  Southern 
Oregon,  and  the  golden  coreopsis  aNo.  The  Indian  pink,  Cas- 
telia  brevifolia,  asserts  its  right  '<  »k  gay  anywhere  there  is  a 
bank  of  loose  warm  earth.  In  no  shadowy  edges  of  the  forest 
one  maj"  find  the  Indian  pipe  shooting  up  its  colorless  stem,  and 
the  pretty  "  tobacco-pouch"  cypripedium,  with  its  striped  white, 
brown,  and  purple  pocket  held  invitingly  open. 

In  the  fields  and  on  sunny  slopes  grow  the  "shooting  star" 
{Dodecatheon  Meodia),  of  several  colors ;  flax-flower  {Linum) ; 
"boys  and  girls"  (Cynoglossum),  pink  and  blue  on  the  same 
stem;  convolvulus,  white  and  pink;  phlox  (Clarkia);  CoUomia 
grandiflora,  in  old-gold  color;  ITesperoscordum  grandiflorum,  white 
stars   marked  with  green   lines;    Hosackia  bicolor,   white  and 

15 


v',r- 


t!i 


1       ! 


I     ! 


II 


i     i  ^  I  c 


226 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


yellow,  and  diceriv.a,  white  and  scarlet.  Tangled  among  tall 
grass  and  bushes  is  the  pea-vine  (  Vicia  Americana) ;  while  such 
familiar  plants  as  3'arrow,  sheep-sorrel,  St.-John's-wort,  and 
spearmint  inhabit  about  cultivated  ground.  / 

Bending  over  springs  may  be  found  the  lady's-ear-drop  (^Del- 
phinium nudicaule),  ved ;  and  the  dainty  dew-bell  {Cyclobothra 
alba.  The  autumn  fields  display  the  aster,  golden  rod,  and  sun- 
flower, but  of  lesser  size  than  the  same  plants  in  the  Eastern 
and  Middle  States,  The  native  dandelion,  too,  is  a  small  and 
ragged  flower,  while  the  imported  plant  blooms  in  extraordinary 
splendor,  to  the  distress  of  lawn-keepers. 

It  is,  indeed,  to  be  remarked  that  seeds  take  lodgement  in  this 
soil  without  the  encouragement  of  cultivation.  An  instance  of 
this  is  to  be  seen  in  the  valley  of  the  Lower  Umpqua  River. 
A  lady  brought  with  her  from  New  York  some  common  flower 
seeds  early  in  the  "fifties,"  there  being  among  them  the  snap- 
dragon. The  wind  scattered  the  seed  from  her  garden,  which 
look  root  outside  of  it,  and  these  outside  plants  again  scattered 
their  seed,  by  the  aid  of  the  wind,  further  away,  until  now  the 
whole  valley  about  Gardiner  for  miles  grows  snapdragon  as 
a  common  weed,  and  very  troiiblesomo,  because  poisonous,  to 
cattle-owners.  The  traveller  on  the  0.  E.  and  N.  Railroad  may 
observe,  between  The  Dalles  and  Hood  River,  a  long  stretch  of 
blue  bucheloT'-button,  self-sown  from  the  garden  of  some  early 
settler.  Thr  same  evidence  of  fertility  and  adaptability  was 
noticed  at  the  old  mission  in  the  Walla  Walla  Valley,  where  the 
red  poppies  from  the  mission  garden  spread  themselves  through 
the  meadows  of  Mill  Creek,  where  they  were  blooming  luxuri- 
antly a  quarter  of  a  century  after  the  garden  and  all  about  had 
been  destroyed  by  sivage  warfare. 

The  prevailing  cclors  of  wild  flowers  west  of  the  Cascades 
are  purple,  yellow,  and  white,  with  a  fair  proportion  of  pink  or 
red.  East  of  the  mountains  there  are  still  fewer  red  flowers. 
Blue  flowers  are  very  rare  in  any  portion  of  this  country,  as 
they  are  everywhere.  T  remember  to  ha\e  seen  some  lovely 
blue  flowers  growin-'  in  the  sands  between  "Wallula  and  the  first 
crossing  of  the  Touchet,  but  they  were  unknown  to  me.  Buif 
or  salmon-color  is  still  rarer,  the  Gollomia  being  the  only  one  1 
remember  seeing.     Yet,  with  all  the  diff'erent  shades  of  the 


THE  BOTANY   OF   THE   NORTHWEST. 


227 


common  purple,  yellow,  white,  and  red,  with  their  differing 
forms,  a  great  deal  of  beauty  may  be  expressed. 

Southeastern  Oregon  has  some  handsome  wild  flowers  quite 
new  to  me ;  and  its  marshes  grow  the  Wocus,  or  yellow  pond- 
lily,  the  seeds  of  which  furnish  food  in  large  amount  to  the  In- 
dians, who  macerate  them  and  make  them  into  a  sort  of  oil-cake 
for  winter  use. 

Very  few  flowers  are  fragrant  on  the  coast;  while,  on  the 
contrary,  very  many  of  those  found  east  of  the  Cascades  are 
highly  perfumed,  as  they  are  also  in  Southern  Oregon,  where 
the  blue  violet,  quite  scentless  near  the  Columbia,  is  deliciously 
fragrant. 

The  soil  and  climate  of  Oregon  and  Washington  are  highly 
favorable  to  the  growth  of  flowers,  and  we  may  find  in  the 
gardens  here  plants  from  almost  every  clime  growing  in  more 
or  less  perfection.  From  t'le  plenitude  of  moisture,  they  con- 
tinue to  blossom  very  late  in  the  season,  a  bouquet  of  roses 
and  a  dozen  other  varieties  of  elegant  flowers  being  often 
gathered  at  Christmas.  Frequently  gardening  can  be  resumed 
in  February,  which  gives  a  large  proportion  of  the  year  to 
the  enjoyment  of  one  of  the  purest  and  most  wholesome  of 
pleasures. 

The  United  States  Exploring  Expedition  collected,  in  the  year 
1854-55,  three  hundred  and  sixty  species  of  native  plants,  of 
which  one  hundred  and  fifty  are  peculiar  to  the  prairies  of 
Oregon  and  Washington. 

Prom  a  pamphlet  published  by  Thomas  Howell,  of  Arthur, 
Oregon,  in  1887,  it  appears  that  a  list  of  all  the  species  and 
varieties  known  to  exist  in  the  territory  west  of  Wyoming  and 
north  of  California  comprises  twenty-one  hundred  and  fifty-two 
species  and  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  varieties  of  plants, 
or  twenty-three  hundred  and  seventy-nine  in  all. 


v«fU  .-    »^*■«^^''". 


■li-  t 


228 


ATLANTIS  ARI8EX. 


-  :   ^  CHAPTEE    XVIII. 

SOMETHING   ABOUT   GAME  AND   WILD   SPORTS. 

Notwithstanding  the  thick  growth  of  the  forests  of  Oregon 
and  Washington,  the  hunter  may  find  sport,  with  game  worthy 
of  his  rifle,  if  he  is  not  afraid  of  the  exertion  and  foot-service. 
There  are  numerous  "  openings"  in  the  forest,  and  plenty  of  wild 
country  in  the  foot-hills,  where  game  may  be  found  if  the  hab- 
itat of  each  animal  is  known. 

The  most  formidable  of  the  bear  family  is  the  grizzly,  which 
inhabits  less  the  thick  forests  of  the  north  than  the  manzanita 
thickets  and  the  scrub-onk  coverts  of  Southern  Oregon.  The 
color  of  this  bear  is  a  silvery  gray,  its  bulk  immense,  sometimes 
weighing  two  thousand  pounds,  and  its  habits  herbivorous 
chiefly,  though  it  will,  on  sufficient  provocation,  kill  and  eat 
other  animals,  and  even  man.  It  subsists  in  Southern  Oregon 
upon  the  berries  of  the  manzanita,  of  which  it  is  very  fond,  and 
will  feed  upon  any  berries  or  fruits  within  its  reach, — occasion- 
ally, as  a  relish,  digging  up  a  wasps'-nest  for  the  sake  of  the 
honey,  not  being  able,  like  the  black  bear,  to  climb  in  search  of 
bees'-nests. 

In  seasons  when  drought  has  destroj-ed  its  customary  food  in 
the  mountains  of  California,  it  has  been  known  to  descend  into 
the  valleys  and  dig  up  gophers  for  food.  If  it  scents  fresh  veni- 
son or  beef,  it  will  steal  it  if  possible,  and  has  been  known  to 
take  the  hunter's  provisions  out  from  under  his  head  while 
sleeping.  In  such  a  case  it  is  better  to  pretend  to  be  sound 
asleep  during  the  stealing,  even  if  very  wide  awake,  as  is  most 
likely  to  be  the  case,  for  any  movement  will  be  certain  to  bring 
down  the  bear's  paw  with  force  upon  the  hunter's  head, — "  a 
consummation  most  devoutly  to  be"  avoided. 

This  trick  of  the  grizzly — striking  a  man  on  the  head,  or 
"  boxing  his  ears" — is  a  dangerous  one.  It  is  not  at  all  rare  to 
find  men  in  the  mountains  and  valleys  where  the  grizzly  ranges 
who  have  had  their  skulls  broken  by  the  blow  of  its  immense 
paw.     It  is  much  to  be  dreaded  in  a  pereonal  encounter,  and  by 


"! 


GAME   AND   WILD   SPORTS. 


229 


no  means  easy  to  kill  unlcBS  hit  in  the  vulnerable  spot  behind 
the  ear.  Those  who  fancy  lion-hunting  in  the  jungles  of  Africa 
might  find  equally  good  sport  in  hunting  grizzlies  in  California, 
Oregon,  and  in  some  parts  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

During  the  summer  months  they  retire  to  the  mountains; 
but,  as  the  berries  ripen,  they  seek  the  foot-hills  and  river-banks, 
to  feed  upon  their  favorite  fruits.  If  a  cavern  is  not  at  hand 
when  winter  comes  on  in  the  cold  regions,  they  make  a  bod 
for  themselves  in  some  thicket,  or  sometimes  dig  a  hole  below 
the  surface,  in  which  they  pass  the  winter  sucking  their  paws. 
It  would  seem  that  where  the  winters  are  as  mild  as  in  the 
Coast  Mountains  of  California,  they  do  not  hibernate,  as  they 
are  met  with  all  through  the  winter  season,  and  kill,  and  are 
killed,  more  than  ever  at  that  time,  on  account  of  the  scarcity 
of  berries. 

There  ai'o  several  curious  facts  in  the  natural  history  of  this 
bear,  one  of  the  most  singular  of  which  is,  that  the  period  of 
gestation  is  entirely  unknown,  even  to  the  most  observant  and 
experienced  mountain  men.  No  one  has  ever  killed  a  female 
carrying  young,  at  any  time  of  the  year,  though  they  are  often 
discovered  with  their  cubs  evidently  but  a  few  weeks  old. 
Where  they  hide  themselves  during  this  period,  or  how  long  it 
lasts,  no  hunter  has  ever  been  able  to  observe,  though  there  are 
men  who  ha^'e  spent  half  their  lives  in  the  mountains,  and 
killed,  in  desperate  encounter,  raanj'  a  grizzly,  and  at  all  times 
of  the  year,  even  when  hibernating. 

The  grizzly  seems  to  be  ''a  man  of  many  minds,"  with  re 
gard  to  attack.  Usually,  unless  in  charge  of  cubs,  it  quietly 
avoids  a  meeting  with  the  hunter,  and  at  times  even  seems 
timid  and  easily  alarmed.  But  because  one  grizzly  has  given 
you  room,  you  must  not  depend  upon  the  next  one  doing  the 
same.  It  is  quite  as  likely  that  he  will  challenge  you  as  you 
pass;  and,  unless  well  prepared  to  take  up  the  glove,  you  had 
better  "take  up"  the  first  tree  you  come  to.  It  is  not  a  pleasant 
sight  to  see  one  of  these  monsters  on  his  hind-quarters,  with  his 
fore-paws  ready  for  action ;  and  when  it  comes  to  running,  he 
can  run  as  fast  as  you  can. 

The  brown,  or  cinnamon,  bear  is  also  a  savage  ci'eature,  with 
many  of  the  traits  of  the  grizzly,  but  inferior  in  size.     He  in- 


III 


11  ■< 


230 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


habits  tho  same  regions  with  the  latter,  and  also  is  found  in  the 
thick  forests  of  Northern  Oregon  and  Washington. 

The  black  bear  is  common  to  every  part  of  these  countries, 
living  in  tho  mountains  in  summer,  and  visiting  the  low  hilla 
and  small  valleys,  or  the  banks  of  rivers,  in  autumn.  When  the 
acorn  crop  is  good  in  the  foot-hills,  bears  haunt  the  groves  which 
furnish  tlieir  favorite  food.  If  they  can  find  a  sti'ay  porker  en- 
gaged in  foraging,  they  embrace  him  a  little  too  tightly  for  his 
health, — in  short,  "squeeze  tho  breath  out  of  him," — after  which 
affectionate  observance  they  oat  him.  But,  unless  exasperated, 
they  never  attack  tho  buman  family,  and  ai'e  not  regarded  as 
dangerous  under  ordinary  circumstances. 

An  animal  which  is  ferociousi,  and  not  unfroqUvTuly  met  wkh 
in  the  mountains,  is  tijo  cougar, — an  animal  of  the  cat  species, 
with  a  skin  something  like  a  leopard's,  and  a  long,  ringed  tail, 
but  a  head  with  a  lion-like  breadth.  It  is  variously  called  the 
California  lion  and  American  panther.  We  saw  one  largo  speci- 
men, which  was  lying  dead  by  the  roadside  on  the  Calapooya 
Mountain,  which  measured  seven  feet  from  tip  to  tip.  This 
animal  seldom  attacks  a  man,  but  is  very  destructive  to  calves 
and  colts  in  the  vicinity  of  tho  mountains,  especially  in  the 
newly-settled  parts. 

There  are  three  species  of  tho  wolf  in  Oregon  and  Washing- 
ton, of  which  the  black  is  the  largest  and  most  ferocious.  It 
stands  two  and  a  half  or  thx*ee  feet  high,  and  is  five  to  six  feet 
from  tip  to  tip.  Such  was  its  destructiveness  in  the  earliest 
settlement  of  the  country  that  special  means  were  resorted  to 
for  its  extermination,  until  now  it  is  rarely  ever  meo  with.  It 
attacks  young  cattle  and  colts,  as  does  the  cougar. 

The  white  or  gray  uolf  is  another  enemy  to  the  stock-raiser, 
though  it  is  satisfied  with  smaller  game  than  the  black  wolf, 
contenting  itself  with  full-grown  sheep  ;  and,  being  more  power- 
ful than  a  dog,  is  a  great  destroyer  of  flocks  in  some  localities, 
and  so  sagacious  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  poison.  The  coyote, 
or  barking  wolf,  is  also  a  depredator,  taking  young  pigs  and 
lambs.  One  of  these  little  animals  has  the  voice  of  several, 
and  can  imitate  the  bai'king  of  a  whole  pack.  It  is  almost 
too  contemptible  to  be  considered  game,  and  is  given  over  to 
strychnine. 


GAME   AND   WILD  SPORTS. 


There  are  two  or  three  species  of  lynx,  or  wild-cat,  also 
troublesQme  to  eettlers  near  the  forest,  carrying  off  young  pigs 
and  such  small  farm  stock.  When  not  stealing  from  the  farmer 
they  subsist  upon  young  fawns,  hares,  squirrels,  and  game  birds. 
These  pests  are  numerous  in  the  woods  of  the  Lower  Columbia. 
We  have  seen  numerous  good  specimens  depending  from  the 
limbs  of  trees,  where  they  had  been  hung  after  shooting. 

Of  foxes  there  are  the  red,  silver-gray,  black,  and  gray  varie- 
ties. It  is  thought  that  the  black  fox  is  a  distinct  species ;  as  is 
also  the  gray,  which  is  smaller.  But  the  silver-gray  is  said  by 
the  Indians  to  be  the  male  of  the  red  species,  ihe  female  only 
being  of  a  reddish  color.  This  species,  in, all  its  varieties,  is 
very  common  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Cascades,  and  the  smaller 
gray  is  most  abundant  in  Southeastern  Oregon.  Their  skins, 
though  not  as  handsome  as  the  silver-gray,  are  still  very  fine. 
The  gray  is  the  "  medicine  fox"  of  the  Indians,  a  meeting  with 
which  brings  misfortune. 

Elk  are  found  both  in  the  Cascade  and  Coast  Mountains,  but 
are  most  abundant  in  the  latter,  especially  in  the  Olympic  Range. 
In  summer  they  keep  pretty  high  up,  but  when  snow  fulls  in 
the  mountains  descend  to  the  plains  and  river-bottoms.  They 
travel  in  well-beaten  trails  and  in  largo  droves,  which  make 
them  easy  game.  When  quite  wild  they  show  considerable 
curiosity,  stopping  to  look  at  the  hunter,  thus  offering  a  fair 
shot.  When  wounded  and  in  close  quarters  they  are  formidable 
antagonists,  from  their  groat  size,  heavy  head,  and  lai'ge  antlei's. 
The  immense  size  of  their  antlers  would  appear  to  be  an  obstacle 
to  thoir  escape  when  running  in  the  forest,  but  by  throwing 
back  their  heads  thoy  drop  them  over  their  shoulders  so  well 
out  of  tho  way  as  to  enable  them  to  pass  through  the  thick 
woods  without  difficulty.  There  still  are  immense  herds  of  them 
in  the  mountains  near  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  and  may  be 
hunted  in  summer  by  parties  sufficiently  hardy  for  overcoming 
the  obstacles  of  the  forest.  But  autumn  and  winter  are  better 
seasons  for  hunting  elk,  as  they  then  come  down  to  more  open 
ground.  Elk-steaks  are  no  rarity  in  Astoria,  and  occasionally 
they  are  to  be  met  with  in  the  Portland  markets.  It  is  estimated 
that  not  less  than  one  thousand  elk  were  killed  in  one  year  in 
Coos  County  alone,  for  the  skins  only. 


k', 


232 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


Three  species  of  door  are  found  in  Oregon  and  Washington, 
— the  white-tailed,  blaok-tailed,  and  mule  door.  The  tiwo  first- 
named  species  inhabit  the  country  west  of  the  Cascades,  the 
black-tailed  being  most  common.  They  also  inhabit  oast  of  the 
mountains,  but  have  been  greatly  decimated  by  the  Indians,  who 
kill  them  wantonly  in  snowy  winters  when  they  cannot  run.  In 
the  mountains  along  the  Lower  Columbia  and  Lower  Wallamet 
they  are  still  very  plentiful.  Gamolaws  exist  in  Oregon  for 
protecting  them  during  a  certain  season,  and  yet  lawless  per- 
sons are  found  who  kill  them  without  regard  to  their  condition. 
The  mule  deer  is  found  only  east  of  the  Cascades,  and  is  not 
(!ommun.  It  seems  to  be  a  hybrid  between  the  antelope  and 
black-tailed  deer. 

The  antelope  was  an  inhabitant  of  East  Oregon,  and  was 
hunted  by  the  Indians  by  a  "  surround," — for,  though  curious 
enough  to  stop  to  look  at  the  hunter,  it  is  very  fleet  and  soon 
distances  pursuit.  Hence  the  Indian  method  of  driving  them 
into  a  corral,  by  coming  down  upon  a  herd  from  all  sides  and 
gradually  forcing  them  into  an  inclosure  made  for  the  purpose, 
— a  very  unspoi  tsman-like  way  of  taking  such  delicate  game. 

East  Oregon  also  furnishes  the  mountain  sheep.  In  the  re- 
gion of  John  Day  and  Des  Chutes  Elvers,  they  were  formerly 
very  numerous.  Their  flesh  is  good,  though  likely  to  be  flavored 
with  whatever  they  feed  most  upon.  It  appears  from  the  testi- 
mony of  early  voyagers  to  this  coast,  that  the  Indians  formerly 
made  a  kind  of  cloth  from  the  wool  of  the  mountain  sheep,  but 
the  process  of  its  manufacture  is  unknown  in  Oregon  at  this 
period.  The  fact  of  the  sheep  being  native  to  the  grassy  plains 
of  East  Oregon  and  Washington  furnishes  a  hint  by  which 
wool-growers  have  profited. 

The  prairie  hare — a  large,  blue-gray  species — is  found  in  East 
Oregon  and  Washington,  as  well  as  on  the  mountains  of  Southern 
Oregon,  where  it  is  very  common.     The  flesh  is  good  eating. 

In  the  Olympic  Mountains  of  Washington  lives  a  curious  crea- 
ture known  as  the  whistling  marmot,  or  mountain  beaver.  It 
is  very  numerous  about  the  head  of  the  Quilcene  River.  These 
animals  are  about  the  size  of  a  fox,  and  have  long,  bushy  tails. 
When  disturbed  by  the  presence  of  man,  whom  they  probably 
regard  as  an  enemy,  they  run  about  from  I'ock  to  rock,  sometimes 


k 


IT 

'I 


GAME  AND   WILD  SPORTS. 


233 


sitting  bolt  upright  as  if  nurveying  the  danger,  somotimos  lying 
down  as  if  to  avoid  it,  but  continually  whistling  to  each  other. 
They  have  two  long  front  teeth  for  cutting,  like  the  river  beaver, 
and  feet  like  a  squirrel.  In  the  winter  they  burrow  under  the 
enow,  and  their  fur,  which  in  Buiuraer  is  yellow,  becomes  a  dark 
gray. 

Of  fur-bearing  animals  which  are  hunted  for  their  skins,  there 
is  the  hair-seal  in  the  Columbia  Eiver,  a  pretty  creature  of  a 
bluish-gray  color  spotted  with  white.  They  swim  up  the  river 
as  far  as  the  Cascades,  and  in  high  water  as  far  as  The  Dalles. 
They  are  smaller  than  the  red  seal  of  the  Pacific,  and  very 
docile  in  disposition.  Instances  have  occurred  of  their  domes- 
tication, when  they  have  shown  the  same  attachment  to  their 
masters  that  the  dog  does,  following  also  by  scent,  even  into  the 
thick  woods,  where  they  have  torn  themselves  fearfully  in  their 
efforts  to  overtake  those  who  had  deserted  them.  The  Indians 
roast  and  eat  them. 

Minks  are  common  to  the  waters  of  Oregon  and  Washington, 
but  are  most  numerous  in  the  lakes  and  streams  of  the  latter. 
It  is  said  that  when  they  inhabit  the  Sound  they  subsist  upon 
shell-fish.  The  beaver,  which  was  nearly  exterminated  during 
the  occupancy  of  the  country  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  is 
again  quite  abundant  in  the  streams  of  all  the  wooded  portions. 
One  of  the  features  of  the  Columbia  attractive  to  the  sports- 
man is  the  sight  of  the  hunting-boat — a  scow  with  a  house  upon 
it — which  goes  peering  into  all  the  creeks  and  sloughs  leading 
into  the  river,  after  game  of  this  sort,  and,  in  the  ducking  sea- 
son, after  water-fowl.  The  "  California  otter"  also  inhabits  the 
mountain  streams,  especially  those  which  come  down  from  the 
Cascades. 

The  pine-marten,  or  American  sable,  is  found  along  the  streams 
of  the  Cascade  Mountains,  and  clinging  to  the  pine-trees  on  their 
eastern  slopes,  in  Oregon  and  Washington.  Their  skins  are 
quite  valuable,  though  not  collected  except  by  Indians,  who 
prize  them  for  ornament. 

The  sea-otter,  whose  fur  is  of  such  exquisite  fineness,  is 
taken  off  the  coast  of  Washington,  from  Damon  Point,  at  the 
entrance  to  Gray's  Harbor,  northward  to  Point  Grenville,  a  dis- 
tance of  only  twenty-four  miles.     Considerable  preparation  and 


■  P 


1    ■ 

t    < 

1 

'     ;  :  :^ 

• 

234 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


skill  arc  required  in  this  sport.  The  hunter  constructs  for  him- 
self a  derrick  about  forty  foot  high,  this  mechanism  consisting 
simply  of  three  slim  poles  securely  bolted  together  at  top  and 
spread  out  like  a  tripod  at  bottom.  This  is  placed  on  the  beach 
at  a  point  midway  between  high  and  low  tide,  tirmly  planted  in 
the  sand,  and  braced,  with  the  moans  of  ascent  and  descent  pro- 
vided by  cross-pieces  on  the  inland  side.  Near  the  tn  7  a  plat- 
form is  provided,  with  walls  on  the  ocean  sides  to  hide  the 
hunter  from  view,  and  screen  him  from  the  wind  which  often 
is  sharp  and  biting.  At  low  tide  the  hunter  betakes  himself  to 
his  oyry,  and  seating  himself  on  the  top  of  the  tripod  begins  his 
watch,  which  lasts  six  hours.  He  is  armed  with  a  good  pair  of 
glasses  and  a  Sharpe's  rifle.  When  the  tide  begins  to  flood  his 
range  is  six  hundred  yards,  but  as  it  runs  in  on  the  beach  it  is 
shortened  to  half  that  or  loss.  At  either  distance  it  quires 
close  calculation  to  get  a  good  aim,  or  to  overcome  tL  "'\  ct  of 
the  ocean  swell  and  movement.  The  best  marksman  may  miss 
ninety-nine  times  out  of  a  hundred ;  and  no  wonder,  for  when 
the  tide  is  full  his  dei-rick  is  in  the  midst  of  the  dizzyini^  breakers. 
The  shooting  is  done  during  flood- tide,  that  the  spoil  may  be 
washed  ashore,  but  it  is  often  several  days  before  it  is  beached, 
and  then  an  Indian  may  have  gotten  it.  Each  hunter  has  a 
particular  mark  by  which  his  bullets  are  known,  and  if  an 
otter  comes  ashore  without  a  bullet  in  him,  it  is  the  property 
of  the  finder;  but  an  Indian  would  not  trouble  himself  about 
"  brands." 

The  natives  hunt  the  otter  in  canoes,  sometimes  going  far  out 
to  sea  and  remaining  for  days.  In  fact,  they  drive  them  away 
from  shore,  and  injure  the  sport  of  the  white  hunters.  The 
season  for  killing  is  from  May  to  October,  and  a  hunter  does 
not  take  more  than  four  in  a  season.  The  skins  are  valued 
at  from  ninety  dollars  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  to  the 
hunter,  but  a  Kussian  or  a  Chinaman  will  pay  for  an  otter-skin 
overcoat  from  one  thousand  to  two  thousand  dollars.  The  otter 
will  soon  be  hunted  out,  and  disappear,  even  as  forest  animals 
are  doing. 

Whales  are  frequently  harpooned  by  the  Neah  Bay  Indians 
near  the  entrance  to  the  Strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca.  It  is  a  hazard- 
ous sport,  requiring  groat  "  medicine"  to  succeed  in  ;  but  when 


M 


!■■ 


GAME  AND   WILD  SPORTS. 


235 


a  wi.ale  is  captured  the  occasion  is  one  of  general  rejoicing  and 
feasting — apotlatch  of  niucii  consequence  to  tlio  whole  tribe. 

The  woods  of  tlio  Pacific  Coast  have  not  been  noted  I'or  sing- 
ing-birds, tiie  songsters  of  the  Atlantic  States  and  Europe  being 
strangers  to  tlie  Northwest.  The  nieadow-iarU  is  almost  the 
only  bird  which  cheers  the  truvoUor  on  his  way  over  the  wide 
plains  of  East  Oregon  and  Washington,  where  his  short  but 
inspiriting  warblo  greets  one  IVom  every  side.  In  the  garden 
trees  of  the  Wallamot  Valley  the  native  canary  sings  merrily, 
and  a  variety  of  chirping,  sober-hued,  and  shy  winged  and 
feathered  visitors  make  free  with  the  fruit  to  be  found  there. 
The  lack  of  songsters  inipellod  the  Agricultural  Society  to  im- 
port them,  and  a  few  years  ago  there  were  brought  from  abroad 
and  set  free  in  the  fields  and  woods  the  bullfinch,  greenfinch, 
goldfinch,  nightingale,  black-headed  nightingale,  chaffinch,  ring- 
ouzel,  bobolink,  black  thrush,  song  thrush,  starling,  and  singing 
quail.  How  they  were  received  by  their  forest  brothers  is  not 
known,  but  that  they  have  to  some  extent  increased  is  evidenced 
by  the  greater  variety  of  notes  which  one  may  hear  any  morning 
in  summer  from  his  open  window  in  the  vicinity  of  trees. 

Of  game  birds  there  are  great  numbers,  as  might  bo  conject- 
ured from  the  nature  of  the  country.  The  habits  and  habitats 
of  this  kind  of  game  are  too  well  known  to  need  remark.  The 
most  common  are  the  mountain  quail,  valley  quail,  dusky  grouse, 
ruffled  grouse,  sharp-tailed  grouse  or  prairie  chicken,  sage-cock, 
curlew  (the  last  three  east  of  the  Cascade  Mountains),  killdeer, 
plover,  golden  plover,  Virginia  rail,  English  snipe,  red-breasted 
snipe,  summer  duck,  Canada  goose,  white-fronted  goose,  black 
brant,  mallard  duck,  canvas-back  duck,  blue-winged  teal,  brown 
crane,  green-winged  teal,  and  several  others  omitted  or  unknown. 
The  golden  pheasant  of  China  (imported)  is  also  beginning  to 
be  a  very  familiar  sight  to  the  sportsman. 

In  autumn  the  waters  of  the  rivers,  lakes,  and  sounds  are 
swarming  with  water-fowl.  A  week's  sport  with  a  party  in  a 
hunting  boat  or  steam-yacht,  with  good  living  on  board,  is 
thought  "  worth  the  shot."  When  I  add  that  the  watera  of  the 
country  afford  the  best  of  sport  for  the  angler,  from  a  seventy- 
pound  salmon  to  a  dainty  speckled  trout,  it  must  be  allowed 
that  there  is  amusement  for  pleasure-seekers,  not  to  say  health- 


Ijrjgl^^  J^JP 


4 


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536 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


ful  pastime  for  invalids,  to  be  found  here.  There  are  also  here, 
what  cannot  be  readily  found  in  the  Atlantic  States, — men  who 
have  made  hunting  and  trappirg  the  business  of  their  lives,  and 
who,  while  they  lenil  their  knowledge  of  the  craft  to  younger 
disciples,  entertain  them  with  volumes  of  humorous  and  exciting 
personal  adventure  with  every  sort  of  gf»me,  from  a  beaver  to  a 
grizzly,  or  a  Blackfoot  Indian. 

The  curious  tourist  may  find  in  Oregon  rnen  who  were  with 
Sublette,  Wyeth,  and  Bonneville  in  the  mountains  nearly  sixty 
years  ago ,  men  who  met  there  Stanley,  the  painter ;  Douglas, 
the  botanibt ;  Fai'nham,  the  would-be  founder  of  a  communist 
colony  ;  men  who  hunted  beaver  and  Indians  with  Kit  Carson ; 
who  laugh  at  Fremont  as  a  pathtinder :  who  served  Wilkes  on 
his  surveying  expedition ,  and  who  saw  Oregon  in  danger  of  be- 
coming an  independent  government,  b  't  whose  stanch  patriocism 
saved  it  to  the  republic  of  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 


FROM    PORTLAND    10    OLYMPIA. 


I  STARTED  from  Portland  in  li.c  forenoon  of  May  2,  1890,  to 
'•make  the  tour  of  th-^  lound,"  for  in  t  lat  familiar  manner  do 
Oregon ians  speak  of  a  journey  through  that  division  of  Wash- 
ington which  lies  wcat  of  the  Cascade  Mountains.  Thej'  have  not 
quite  forgoi  n  that  Washington  was  once  a  pait  of  Oregon, 
and  that  in  early  times  they  warred  with  the  British  fur  com- 
pany for  its  poHSCSsio':!,  holding  on  with  courage  and  pertinacity 
until  the  boundary  question  was  settled  in  1846,  and  conducting 
its  affairs  until  1853,  when  the  territory  north  of  the  Golurabia 
set  up  for  itself  under  the  name  it  now  bears  as  a  State. 

This,  however,  w^r.s  not  the  title  chosen  by  the  territorial  con- 
s'ention  which  petitioned  Congress  tor  a  separate  organization, 
at  Monticello.  on  the  Cowlitz  River,  in  1852,  which  convcntioi: 
asked  for  the  adoption  of  Columbia  as  the  name  of  their  new 
commonwealth.  But  the  bi'l  was  amended  by  Stanton,  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  Washington  substituted. 


FROM   PORTLAND   TO   OLYMPIA. 


237 


The  change  is  to  be  regarded  as  fortunate,  for,  had  the  countxy 
north  of  the  great  river  been  called  by  the  same  name,  the 
individuality  of  the  latter  would  have  been  destroyed,  and  this 
mighty  highw^ay  have  seemed  to  constitute  a  part  ot  a  single 
State,  whereas  it  belongs,  first  nnd  last,  to  several. 

But  to  go  back  to  the  beginning  of  a  jf-urney  from  Portland 
to  and  through  West  Washington.  The  Northern  Pacific 
(Branch)  road  skirts  the  Wallamet  highlands  and  river  for  fif- 
teen or  twenty  miles,  the  traveller  getting  glimpses  of  each,  and 
of  Sauve  Island,  as  be  rushes  past  old  homesteads  whose  sacred- 
ness  the  "  steam  eagles"  of  civilization  have  invaded,  the  iron 
track  often  cutting  in  twain  blooming  orcluvrds,  now  laden  with 
the  promise  of  a  rich  harvest.  There  certainly  never  were  such 
cherry-trees  as  grow  in  the  Northwest ;  enormous  in  height  and 
spread  of  limb,  and  phenomenal  in  wealth  of  snowy  blossoms, 
quite  concealing  leaves  and  stems.  And  the  wonder  culminates 
when  we  find  the  fruit  has  ripened  after  the  san\e  fashion,  quite 
concealing  the  branch  on  which  it  grows.  Pcara  are  blooming 
with  the  same  freedom,  as  are  also  plums,  although  receiving  no 
care.  All  the  pretty  things  of  May-time  are  smiling  at  us  from 
the  wayside,  and  the  dandelion,  which  is  an  immigrant  to  this 
country,  has  "  taken"  it,  immigrant  fashion,  and  the  owners  of 
the  soil  have  much  difficulty  to  teach  it  its  proper  place  in  agri- 
cultural politics.  But  it  looks  prettj-  and  smiling  aLd  golden 
against  the  green  sod,  and  I  find  it  hard  to  have  it  compared  to 
a  dago. 

No  breadth  of  cultivable  land  is  seen  along  this  road  for  some 
distance,  which  finally  emerges  into  a  good  farming  country 
about  the  head  O-'  Scappoose  Bay,  an  inlet  from  the  Columbia  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Lower  Wallamet.  Suddenly  the  character  of 
the  surface  changes,  and  for  a  couple  of  miles,  back  of  St.  H'llen, 
a  sheet  of  basalt,  some  time  poured  out  of  Mount  St.  Helen, 
covers  the  underlying  sand  rock,  and  supports  a  thin  soil  on  top, 
sufficient  to  sustain  scattering  groups  of  trees,  which  have  a 
pleasing  effect  in  contrast  with  the  denser  woods  of  the  hill- 
sides. 

The  crossinff  of  the  Columbia  about  twelve  miles  below  St. 
Helen  is  made  by  a  ferry-boat  large  enough  to  convey  the  train 
to  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  where  we  are  landed  on  terra 


I 


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238 


ATI.ANTIS   ARISEN. 


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firma  at  Kalama,  a  few  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Cowlitz 
Kiver. 

Kalama,  like  most  railroad  towns  not  tei'minal,  is  a  failure, 
because  it  can  show  no  raison  d'etre.  It  was  started  when  the 
Portland  Branch  of  the  Korthern  Pacific  was  being  constructed 
from  the  Columbia  to  the  Sound,  about  1870,  and  the  company's 
head-quai'ters  were  established  there,  which  wei'e,  on  the  com- 
pletion of  the  road,  removed  to  Tacoma.  It  was  also  made  the 
county-seat  of  Cowlitz  County,  Avhich  did  not  save  it  from  de- 
cay. But  I  am  assured  that  the  place  is  feeling  a  return  of 
life  in  sympathy  with  the  present  upward  and  forward  move- 
ment of  the  whole  State,  which  has  for  several  years  been  en- 
joying a  rapid  growth.  We  do  not  tany  long  here,  but  speed 
on  our  journey  to  the  "  Mediterranean  of  the  Pacific." 

About  the  time  the  N.  P.  Railroad  was  being  located  from  the 
Columbia  to  the  Sound  I  made  my  first  visit  to  this  region.  In 
that  day  we  took  an  open  mail-wagon  at  Montieello,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Cowlitz,  for  the  drive  to  Olympiu,  having  to  cross 
Pumphrey's  Mountain  at  the  forks  of  the  Cowlitz  by  a  very 
rough  road  with  rarely  a  human  habitation  along  it.  But  it 
Avas  in  July,  and  I  enjoyed  the  ride,  break-downs  and  all.  What 
struck  me  then  was  the  magnificence  of  the  timber.  Such 
a  forest  as  that  on  Pumphrey's  Mountain  was  something  to 
have  seen.  Trees  straight  as  Ionian  columns,  so  high  that  it 
was  painful  to  bend  one's  neck  to  see  the  tops,  and  with  a 
diameter  corresponding  to  th"ir  height.  If  there  is  anything  in 
nature  for  which  I  have  a  Iotc  resembling  love  to  humanity,  it 
is  for  a  fine  tree.  The  god  Pnn  and  the  old  Druidical  religion 
are  quite  intelligible  as  expressions  of  the  soul  struggling 
"  through  nature  up  to  nature's  God,"  and  one  is  at  once  in  har- 
mony with  the  sentiments  of  grandeur  and  solemnity,  akin  to 
worship,  which  a  scene  such  afl  this  inspires. 

Added  to  the  awe  which  the  mighty  shafts  of  fir,  naked  for  a 
hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  the  "dim  religious  light"  filtering 
through  their  closely-meeting  topg,  awakened  in  my  mind  at 
that  time,  was  a  secret  dread  of  encountering  in  these  shadow 
halls  of  silence  something  unusual — and  terrible — a  brown 
bear  or  a  cougar,  for  instance ;  but  nothing  more  appalling  than 
a  gray  hare,  some  grouse,  and  mountain  quail    attempted  to 


FROM   PORTLAND   TO   OLYMPIA. 


239 


a 

t 

V 

n 

n 

0 


croBs  our  road.  The  larger  game,  if  there  were  any  near,  took 
warning  from  the  noisy  rattling  of  our  wagon  and  hid  them- 
selves from  observation. 

A  few  yoar.-j  later,  when  the  railroad  up  the  Cowlitz  Valley 
had  been  completed,  I  again  visited  Olympia,  and  found  the 
road  to  run  through  a  wild  and  densely-timbered  country  almost 
from  the  Columbia  to  the  Chehalis  River.  There  were,  it  is  true, 
a  few  stations  cut  out  of  the  forest,  with  no  excuse  for  being  ex- 
cept that  all  railroads  must  have  "  stations"  scattered  along, — to 
give  tourists,  by  their  forlon  aspect,  a  contempt  for  the  country, 
I  privately  remarked. 

But  on  this  May-day,  1890,  I  found  the  stations  had  grown 
into  towns,  and  there  were  so  many  of  them  that  I  seemed  to  be 
travelling  over  town-site.'^  all  the  way  to  my  destination.  Not 
that  all  of  these  twenty  or  more  embryo  cities  were  astoundingly 
large  and  populous  for  their  age,  but  that  there  was  so  much  evi- 
dence of  growth  as  to  keep  up  a  feeling  of  curiosity  and  surprise 
as  to  what  brought  these  people  here,  and  how  they  accomplished 
so  much  in  so  short  a  time.  How  many  sturdy  strokes  it  took 
to  clear  away  the  heavy  forest  to  malvc  room  for  farms  and 
towns !  Yet  the  work  had  been  done,  and  in  the  place  of  the 
noble  firs  I  had  so  much  admired  stood  homes,  school-houses, 
churches,  hotels,  stores,  mills,  and  all  the  ordinary  conveniences 
of  established  society.     It  was  a  revelation. 

That  the  Cowlitz  Valley  is  a  fertile  one  none  can  doubt  who 
travel  through  it,  but  it  is  not  a  wide  or  long  one.  It  rather 
consists  of  small  side  valleys,  in  each  of  which  there  is  room  for 
a  settlement.  The  real  wealth  of  the  Cowlitz  country  consists  of 
lumber  and  coal,  with  other  minerals  used  in  manufactures. 

At  Kelso,  which  calls  itself  the  "Gateway  to  the  Sound 
Country,"  are  two  saw-mills  and  four  shingle-mills.  The  place 
hap  about  six  hundred  inhabitants,  and  is  the  prospective  seat 
ci  a  Presbyterian  Academy.  Winlock  and  Toledo  are  two 
thriving  «ettlements  within  a  few  miles  of  each  other,  in  Lewis 
Count3\ 

The  chief  town  of  the  county  of  Cowlitz  is  Castle  Rock,  which 
has  about  eight  hundred  inhabitants.  It  is  located  in  the  midst 
of  good  farming-lands,  large  coal-fields,  and  fine  timber,  and  is  a 
point  of  supply  for  several  mines  in  their  first  stage  of  develop- 


240 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


3    ! 


ment.  It  has  railroad  and  river  transportation,  which,  with  its 
natural  resources,  ought  to  secure  for  it  a  prosperous  future. 

There  is  a  curious  mixture  of  English  and  Indian  words  in 
the  nomenclature  of  this  part  of  Washington,  and  indeed  of 
the  whole  State.  Take  the  names  along  the  raih'oad  from  the 
Columbia  to  the  Sound.  There  are  Carrol,  Kelso,  Coweeman, 
Freeport,  Stockport,  Tucker,  Castle  Rock,  Olequa.  Sopenah, 
Little  Falls,  Mill  Switch,  Winlock,  Napavine,  Newaukum,  Che- 
halts,  Centralia,  Skookum-Chuck,  Seatco,  Tenino,  Gillmore,  Spur- 
lock,  Plumb,  Bu.^h  Prairie,  Tumwater,  Olympia. 

The  railroad  does  noi  touch  the  pretty  village  of  Claqnato,  on 
the  Chehalis  Eiver,  an  old-fashioned,  quiet,  respectable-looking 
place  before  the  railroad  brood  of  towns  came  into  existence. 
We  are  not  permitted  a  glimpse  of  its  tidy  orchards,  gardens, 
gray,  unpainted  frame  houses,  and  its  modest  "  Claquato  Acad- 
emy," which  showed  the  reverence  of  the  pioneer  for  education, 
and  its  equally  modest  wooden  church. 

A  short  distance  from  Newaukum,  which  is  on  a  branch  of 
the  Chehalis  River  just  east  of  Claquato,  is  Chehalis,  the  county- 
seat  of  Lewis  County.  It  was  first  laid  off  in  1873  and  called 
Saundersville,  after  the  owner  of  the  land.  Its  location  was  a 
fortunate  one,  and  it  became  the  seat  of  county  government  in 
place  of  Claquato,  which  had  long  enjoyed  that  distinction.  It 
was  the  centre  of  a  fine  agricultural  district,  and,  being  upon 
the  railroad,  soon  began  to  show  considerable  activity.  During 
the  3''ear  just  passed  it  has  had  a  remarkable  growth,  owing  not 
only  to  its  natural  resources,  but  to  railroad  building  on  two 
lines,  either  of  which  will  connect  it  with  the  sea,  one  at  Gray's 
Harbor  and  another  at  Shoalwater  Bay,  or,  as  it  is  now  called, 
Willapa  Bay.  These  roads  make  the  lumber  business  active. 
Eastern  men,  I  am  told,  are  negotiating  for  a  site  for  a  woollen- 
mill,  water  power  being  conducted  to  the  town  by  a  flume  from 
the  Newaukum.  There  is  a  pump-manufactoiy  located  here, 
and  other  industries  looking  this  way.  A  railroad  line  is  pro- 
jected to  connect  with  Hunt's  system,  in  East  Washington,  via 
Yakima  Valley,  which  road  will  go  to  Willapa,  it  is  said ;  and 
the  Union  Pacific  has  made  a  survey  from  Seattle  to  Portland 
which  closely  parallels  the  Northern  Pacific  through  Chehalis 
County.    All  this  is  very  exciting  to  real- estate  dealers,  and  also 


FROM   PORTLAND   TO   OLYMPIA. 


241 


to  settlers.  The  State  Eeform  School  is  located  at  Chehalis, 
and  a  block  of  land  has  been  deeded  to  the  Catholic  Church  to 
establish  a  Sisters'  School  in  the  town.  An  effort  is  being  made 
to  secure  the  land-office  which  is  to  be  opened  in  the  district. 
Thus,  with  land,  railroad,  lumber,  and  water  companies,  there  is 
enough  to  keep  up  the  spirits  of  an  aspiring  new  town. 

But  wc  have  hardly  glanced  at  this  healthy  and  sturdy  place, 
or  had  our  queries  answered,  before  we  are  at  Centralia,  at  the 
junction  of  the  SkooUum-Chuck  and  Chehalis  Elvers.  This 
3-ounff  city  is  situated  at  about  an  equal  distance  from  Puget 
Sound  and  the  Columbia  Eiver,  and  also  midway  between  the 
mountains  on  the  east  and  the  ocean  on  the  west^henCQ  its 
name,  which  does  not  impi*ess  me  as  being  equal  in  dignity  to 
its  prospects.  On  the  1st  of  January,  1889,  Centralia  had  eight 
hundred  inhabitants.  One  year  from  that  date  its  population 
was  three  thousand  two  hundred.  Eailroad-building  had,  no 
doubt,  some  effect  to  increase  the  census ;  but  that  there  was  a 
very  rapid  growth  during  the  year  is  evident  from  the  improve- 
ments which  one  may  see  on  every  hand.  Its  advantages  are 
identical  with  those  of  Chehalis,  while  it  enjoys  the  still  further 
one  of  being  only  two  miles  from  the  coal-fields,  which  are  being 
slowly  developed,  and  which  will  soon  have  a  railroad  to  them 
to  bring  out  the  mineral.  Besides  the  railroads  already  named 
which  come  to  Centralia,  the  Port  Townsend  and  Southern  is 
expected  to  reach  here  within  a  5'ear,  on  its  way  to  Portland. 

Centralia  is  situated  on  a  prairie,  or  rather  on  rich  bottom- 
land, which  would  make  a  very  productive  hop-farm  or  raise 
small  fruits  in  abundance.  There  is  good  fruit-land  all  about  it, 
and  in  the  vicinity  mighty  forests  of  the  most  valuable  timber. 
Lumber  and  shingles  are  shipped  from  here  to  the  cities  of 
the  East.  Iron  and  copper  are  numbered  among  the  minerals 
within  easy  reach.  It  i.s,  besides,  a  fit  place  to  live  in,  with  a 
good  public-school  system,  an  academy,  an  opera-house,  several 
churches,  a  bank,  a  daily  newspaper,  and  many  substantial 
business  blocks. 

Speeding  on,  the  next  half-dozen  miles  brings  us  to  Bucoda, 
or  Seatco,  which  is  its  postoflice  name.  Here  is  located  a  large 
lumber-mill  and  sash-  and  door-factory.  The  population  is  one 
thousand.      Bucoda  coal  is  beginning   to  have  quite   a  good 

16 


1;.v: 


)( 


Ir 


in 


242 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


reputation.  Bucoda  was  destroj'ed  by  fire,  sustaining  a  loss 
of  one  hundred  and  thirty-throe  thousand  dollars,  but  is  now 
rebuilt  better  than  before. 

On  leaving  the  Chehalis  Valley  wo  enter  upon  gravelly 
prairies,  separated  by  belts  of  timber.  A  particularly  interest- 
ing section  is  Mound  Prairie,  which  is  covered  with  mounds 
from  two  to  two  and  a  half  feet  high,  as  close  together  as  potato- 
hills  in  a  field.  Various  theories  have  been  advanced  as  to  their 
origin,  but  it  is  merely  a  matter  of  conjecture  still. 

At  Tenino  passengers  for  Olympia  leave  the  Northern  IJaeifie, 
and  take  passage  on  the  Olympia  and  Tenino  Railroad,  recently 
sold  to  the  Port  Townsend  and  Southern.  The  distance  is  only 
about  fifteen  miles,  but  the  road  was  a  narrow-gauge,  the  track 
in  bad  order,  travel  light,  and  the  service  anything  but  agree- 
able. I  was  told  the  track  was  to  be  widened  and  the  road  put 
in  good  order,  which  has,  I  believe,  been  done  by  its  new  owners. 

This  little  road,  with  all  its  faults,  had  my  sympathies.  It  was 
built  by  local  capital  and  local  labor,  even  the  ladies  of  Olympia 
assisting  by  having  what  they  called  "field  days,"  when  they 
all  went  out  with  baskets,  coff^ee-pois,  and  fryin^'-pans,  and  fed 
the  volunteers  upon  the  grade,  who  were  the  men  of  every  rank 
of  society  in  the  little  capital  city.  The  Northern  Pacific  had 
disappointed  its  good  people  grievously  by  passing  by  and  taking 
a  short  cut  to  Commencement  Bay, — which  its  want  of  funds 
probably  forced  it  to  do, — and  the  Olympians,  with  true  Ameri- 
can pluck,  determined  to  have  a  branch,  and  did  have  it,  taking  a 
just  pride  in  the  successful  accomplishment  of  their  undertaking. 

Most  of  the  prairies  about  the  head  of  the  Sound  were  taken 
up  in  early  times,  and  bear  the  names  of  the  first  settlers  upon 
tliem.  Bush's  Prairie  is  perhaps  the  most  noted  of  any  on  the 
line  of  the  road,  simply  because  Bush,  being  a  colored  man, 
of  sound  sense  and  a  kind  heart,  who  made  himself  useful  to 
his  white  neighbors,  defended  his  well-deserved  claim  to  a  dona-  , 
tion,  which  the  government  finally  granted  him,  although  the 
law  read  "white  male  citizen."  His  son  exhibited  wheat  raised 
on  Bush  Prairie,  which  received  a  medal  at  the  Centennial  Ex- 
position. 

Tumwater,  which  is  the  Chinook  dialect  for  strong  or  rapid 
water,  is  the  name  of  a  village  at  the  head  of  Budd's  Inlet,  on 


FROM   PORTLAND   TO   OLYMPIA. 


243 


which  Olyrapia  is  situated.  There  are  mills  and  manufactories  on 
Des  Chutes  Eiver,  which  here  falls  into  tide  water,  mailing  a 
very  pretty  cataract.  The  town  itself  is  sleepy  and  old-fashioned, 
and  for  that  reason  more  interesting  than  those  bran-new  ones, 
all  bustle  and  discomfort.  Here  was  made  the  first  American 
settlement;  in  1845,  when  seven  emigrants,  five  of  whom  had 
families,  forced  their  way  through  the  forest  along  the  Cowlitz 
and  the  Chehalis  Valley  to  Puget  Sound.  The  leader  of  this 
mighty  host  was  Michael  T.  Simmons,  a  Kentuckian  of  the 
Daniel  Boone  order,  who  selected  this  j^lace  for  settlement,  and 
erected  the  first  flouring-mill  in  all  this  region,  a  small  atfair  in 
a  log-house,  the  millstones  being  hewn  out  of  blocks  of  granite 
found  on  the  beach.  Even  unbolted  flour  was  a  luxury  after  a 
year  of  boiled  wheat.  Tumwater  is  a  good  place  to  listen  to 
pioneer  stories  and  reflect  what  man  can  do. 

A  belt  of  timber  about  two  miles  in  breadth  encircles  the 
Sound,  even  where  the  back  country  is  prairie.  Olympia  there- 
fore was  hewn  out  of  the  forest,  but  it  has  a  pretty  situation,  and 
resembles  a  New  England  town  more  than  any  other  I  have  seen 
in  the  Northwest.  Perhaps  I  should  say  it  did  resemble  a  New 
England  town,  for  I  found  on  the  occasion  of  my  late  visit  that 
it  was  partaking  of  the  hurry  and  exhilaration  of  real-estate 
transfers  in  anticipation  of  coming  events — and  railroads.  I 
prefer  to  speak  of  it  as  it  had  appeared  to  me  on  former  occa- 
sions, when  it  had  an  air  of  home  comfort  and  cheerful  leisure, 
produced  by  snug  residences,  good  sidewalks,  pleasant  gardens, 
shade-trees,  and  a  neighborly  friendliness  joined  to  a  frank  in- 
dependence in  its  citizens,  who  withal  were  rather  above  the 
average  in  intelligence.  And  why  not,  when  the  capital  had 
always  been  here,  and  the  people  were  used  to  hearing  public 
questions  discussed  ? 

One  of  Olympia's  charms  to  me  was  its  long  bridges  and 
wharves — for  the  tide  has  a  great  rise  and  fall  in  this  inlet.  To 
be  suspended  over  water  on  a  bridge,  a  long  one,  was  always  to 
me  fascinating.  To  be  at  rest  over  the  restless  water,  and  gaze 
upon  its  instability  and  dream !  In  Olympia  one  can  do  this, 
when  the  tide  is  in.  When  it  is  out  one  can  watch  the  millions 
of  squirming  things  left  by  the  receding  flood  in  the  oozy  mud. 
Standing  on  the  long  bridge,  too,  we  can  gaze  upon  the  Olympian 


^1 


m 


244 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


Range — tlio  most  aerial  mountain  view  in  this  country  of 
mountains. 

Olympiu  was  settled  as  a  donation  claim  in  1846  by  Levi  L. 
Smith,  who  had  for  a  partner  Edward  Sylvester.  Smith  died, 
and  Sylvester  remained  in  possession  of  the  claim,  which  was 
patented  to  him.  Here  ho  lived  and  died  in  peace  and  plenty, 
leaving  a  handsome  estate.  In  spite  of  the  rivalry  of  other 
towns,  Olympia  has  always  been  the  choice  of  the  people  for 
the  capital,  ihat  choice  being  defiuitolj'  confirmed  by  an  election 
held  after  Washington  became  a  State.  That  matter  being 
settled,  capital  and  corporations  are  now  looking  for  invest- 
ments, and  the  quiet  little  town  is  in  danger  of  blossoming 
forth  into  a  city.  Its  present  population  is  a  little  over  eight 
thousand.  Its  lumber  trade  amounts  to  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars  annually.  It  is  connected  with  all  the  cities  on  the 
Sound  by  steamer  lines,  and  with  some  of  them  by  railroad,  as 
also  with  the  Columbia  River  and  Portland.  It  is  expected 
that  the  Port  Townsend  and  Southern  will  be  extended  north  to 
Port  Townsend  and  south  to  Portland.  The  Northern  Pacific 
will  connect  it  with  Tacoma  and  Gray's  Harbor,  with  which 
latter  place  it  is  already  in  communication  by  steamer  and  rail. 
The  air  is  full  of  rumors  of  railroad  projects  by  old  and  new 
companies,  but  it  is  with  facts  accomplished  that  I  prefer  to 
deal. 

West  Washington,  unlike  West  Oregon,  has  no  chief  river, 
with  its  numerous  tributaries,  draining  a  great  valley ;  but  it 
has,  nevertheless,  its  central  body  of  water,  into  which  flow 
numerous  small  rivers,  draining  the  Puget  Sound  Basin,  which 
is  bounded,  like  the  Wallamet  Valley,  by  the  Cascade  and  Coast 
Ranges  on  the  east  and  west,  and  by  their  intermingling  spurs 
on  the  south.  These  rivers,  unlike  those  of  Oregon,  are  all 
affected  by  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tides,  and  have  their  lowest 
bottom-lands  overflowed.  The  Sound  itself  is  not  one  simple 
great  inlet  of  the  sea,  but  is  an  indescribably  tortuous  body  of 
water  which  is  not  even  a  sound,  being  too  deep  for  soundings 
in  some  of  its  narrowest  parts.  So  eccentric  are  its  meander- 
ings  that  the  whole  county  of  Kitsap  is  inclosed  so  nearly  in 
the  embraces  of  its  several  long  arms  as  very  narrowly  to 
escape  being  an  island.     .. 


KB 


PROM    PORTLAND   TO  OLYMPIA. 


245 


That  particular  arm  of  the  Sound  upon  which  Olympia  is 
situated  is  six  miles  in  length  by  from  one  to  one  and  a  half 
miles  in  width,  narrowing  to  a  quarter  of  a  mile  when  opposite 
the  town.  At  low-tide  the  water  recedes  entirely  at  this  point, 
leaving  a  mud  flat  all  the  way  from  here  to  Tumwater,  a  mile 
and  a  half  south.  The  mean  rise  and  fall  of  the  tide  is  a  little 
over  nine  feet;  the  greatest  difference  between  the  highest  and 
lowest  tides  is  twenty-four  feet. 

The  land  adjacent  to  this  inlet  is  considerably  elevated  along 
the  shore,  and  rises  yet  higher  at  a  little  distance  back,  being 
level,  however,  in  some  places.  The  same  general  shape  of 
country  surrounds  the  whole  Sound,  the  land  having  a  general 
rise  back  from  it  for  some  distance.  This,  of  course,  must  be  the 
case  where  a  basin  exists  of  the  character  of  this  one.  That 
portion  of  it  which  lies  adjacent  to  the  Sound  possesses  a  po- 
rous, gravelly  soil,  nevertheless,  heavily  timbered  with  trees  of 
immense  size.  This  belt  of  timber  is  several  miles  in  width. 
The  roads  through  it  and  across  the  small  prairies  which  lie  on 
its  outskirts  are  all  that  could  be  desired  in  the  way  of  natural 
macadam,  and  furnish  deli<?htful  driving.  One  thing  observed 
regarding  these  beautiful  prairie  spots  was,  that  along  their 
edges,  where  they  receive  the  yearly  accession  to  their  soil  of 
the  leaf  mould  of  the  forest,  the  orchards  and  gardens  looked 
very  thrifty,  and  also  that  wherever  there  was  a  piece  of  bottom- 
land on  any  small  stream  the  hay-crop  was  the  heaviest  we  had 
e%'er  seen. 

About  ten  miles  back  from  the  Sound  on  the  east,  the  country 
commences  to  improve,  and  from  there  to  the  foot-hills  of  the 
Cascades  furnishes  a  good  grazing  region,  with  many  fine  loca- 
tions for  farms.  The  foot-hills  themselves  furnish  extensive  clay- 
loam  districts  suitable  for  grain-raising,  and  will,  when  cleared, 
become  very  valuable  farming  lands.  Around  the  base  of  the 
Coast  or  Olympic  Range,  on  the  west,  there  is  also  another 
large  body  of  clay-loam  land,  and  to  the  south,  between  the 
Chehalis  and  the  Columbia, — or,  more  properly,  between  the 
Columbia  and  the  higher  ground  which  separates  the  Columbia 
Valley  from  the  basin  of  the  Sound, — there  is  a  still  larger  dis- 
trict which  may  be  converted  to  grain-raising.  But  the  vicinity 
of  the  Sound,  within  a  distance  of  from  ten  to  twenty  miles, 


246 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


I     <^. 


urt'urilH  littlu  IuikI  thai  is  good  lor  graiu,  for,  as  bof'ure  noticed, 
these  streuius  coming  into  the  Sound  arc  utt'ected  by  the  tides, 
the  lowest  land  being  overflowed  daily.  That  portion  of  each 
valley  which  is  free  from  submersion  furnishes  the  most  fertile 
soil  imuginalle  for  the  production  of  every  kind  of  f^rain,  fruit, 
and  vegetable,  if  we  except  melons,  grapes,  iiiid  pmichcs,  winch, 
owing  to  the  cool  nights,  mature  less  perfectly  llian  in  East 
Wasliingtoii.  The  valleys  of  these  small  rivers,  like  those  of 
West  Oregon,  already  described,  are  covered  at  first  with  a  rank 
growth  of  moisture-loving  trees,  such  as  the  ash,  alder,  willow, 
and  po])lar.  But  they  are  easily  cleared,  and  the  soil  is  of  that 
warm,  rich  nalu  tliat  it  produces  a  rapid  growth  of  every- 
thing intrusted  to  its  Ijosom.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  these 
valleys  are  narrow,  and  head  in  mountains  at  no  great  distance, 
they  are  occasionally  subject  to  floods.  As  floods  never  occur, 
however,  except  in  the  rainy  or  winter  season,  a  proper  pre- 
caution in  building,  and  harvesting  his  crops,  should  insure  the 
farmer  against  loss  from  them  when  they  do  occur. 

Olympia  has  a  college,  a  hundred  thousand-dollar' hotel,  elec- 
tric lights,  vvatei"- works,  and  street-railway  service.  The  State- 
Ilouse  is  a  wooden  structure  which,  although  in  good  repair, 
is  no  credit  to  the  rich  young  State  of  Washington,  to  whom 
Congress  has  given  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  thousand  acres 
of  land  for  public  buildings.  The  State  constitution  does  not 
locate  all  the  public  buildings  at  the  capital,  but  distributes 
them  among  the  several  towns  and  cities.  Vancouver,  on  the 
Columbia,  has  the  State  School  for  Defective  Youth ;  Medical 
Lake,  in  the  extreme  eastern  part  of  the  State,  has  the  Insane 
Asylum ;  Seattle,  the  State  University ;  and  Walla  Walla,  the 
State  Penitentiary.  The  State  Agricultural  College  will  ])rob- 
ably  soon  be  located  by  the  commissioners  at  some  point  in  East 
Washington.  I  do  not  like  this  plan  of  distributing  public 
institutions  so  well  as  Oregon's  plan  of  concentrating  thorn  at 
the  capital,  making  a  handsome  city  at  the  seat  of  government, 
and  keeping  these  affairs  of  the  government  under  the  eye  of 
the  appropriating  power. 

Washington's  Territorial  Penitentiary  was  on  McNeil's  Island, 
in  Puget  Sound,  about  twenty  miles  northeast  of  Olympia ;  and 
the  Insane  Asylum  was  at  Steilacoom,  on  the  mainland  opposite, 


FROM    OLYMPIA   TO  QUAY's    HAUBOn. 


247 


occupying  the  bdildlngs  erected  by  the  general  government 
when  Steilacoom  was  a  military  post.  Both  institutions  are 
likely  to  be  retained  in  use  tor  some  time. 

Washington  received  as  its  portion  when  it  assumed  the  bur- 
dens of  Ktutehood  one  hundred  tiiousuiid  acres  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  scientific  school;  one  luuidred  thousand  acres  for 
normal  schools;  for  other  educational  and  reformatory  institu- 
tions, two  hundred  thousand  acres ;  and  will,  receive  live  per 
centum  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  piil»lic  lands  lyini;-  within 
her  borders  for  the  support  of  common  schools,  in  addition  to 
the  sixteenth  and  thirty-sixth  sections  in  every  township.  As 
the  constitution  of  Washington  makes  the  minimum  price  of 
school  land  from  five  to  ten  dollars  per  acre,  according  to  quality, 
the  public  nchool  fund  is  likely  to  pi'ove  abundant  for  the  needs 
of  the  successive  generations. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

FEOM   OLYMPIA   TO   QRAY's   HAUBOR. 

After  a  few  days  spent  in  Olympia,  my  impressions  of  which 
remain  most  agreeable,  I  took  steamer  for  Kamilche,  the  port 
on  Little  Skookum  Bay,  where  one  is  transfei'red  to  a  railroad. 
The  weather  was  charming;  the  Olympic  Range,  with  Mount 
Olj-mpus  draped  in  yet  unmelted  snow,  on  one  hand,  and  Mount 
Rainier  on  the  other,  towering  over  the  dark  range  of  the  Cas- 
cades, grand  and  speckless,  drew  the  eyes  away  from  the  too 
dazzling  expanse  of  the  quiet  waters  through  which  we  were 
speeding,  and  the  delightful  air  inspired  one  with  a  teeling  of 
overflowing  vitality. 

Little  Skookum  is  one  of  half  a  dozen  inlets  similar  to  Budd's 
which  radiate  from  a  common  centre  on  Puget  Sound,  like  a 
cluster  of  small  tubers  on  one  large  one.  As  we  go  down  Budd 
Inlet,  Mount  Rainier  is  on  our  right ;  as  we  go  up  Skookum  it 
is  on  our  left,  and,  the  course  of  the  steamer  being  unnoticed 
while  I  study  the  shores,  now  being  dismantled  in  many  places 


11 

^ 

Ml 

(i      :|; 

:U    || 

il   if 

■  1*<  " 

lai 

i\ 

i'Si 

J 

it 

1(    » 


248 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


of  ihcir  forest  dress,  ray  ideas  of  locality  become  much  dia- 
lurbed. 

Kainilche  in  found  to  bo  a  small  new  settlement  in  the  edge  of 
the  woods,  with  a  wharf  and  warehouse  where  passengers  wait 
three-quarters  of  an  hour  while  the  train  backs  down  a  sharp 
grade  to  take  us  on.  This  railroad  from  Kamilclio  to  Montesano, 
called  the  Satsop  Railroad,  is  an  accident,  or  a  necessity,  or  both. 
It  was  commenced  as  a  logging  tramway  to  bring  timber  out  of 
the  Chehalis  Valley  to  tide-water,  for  towing  to  the  groat  mills 
down  the  Sound.  The  people  of  Chehalis  Valley,  having  no 
facilities  for  travel,  persisted  in  riding  on  the  logging-trucks 
until  the  owners  were  Ibrcod  to  put  on  a  box-car.  This  conces- 
sion so  increased  travel  that  a  bettor  track  was  laid,  and  a  com- 
fortable passenger-car  added  to  the  equipment.  At  the  time  I 
took  passage  there  were  two  cars  quite  well  filled.  The  distance 
from  Kamilche  to  Montosano  is  thirty-tive  miles,  and  the  same 
company  own  eleven  other  miles  of  road,  from  Sliolton  to  the 
timbered  lands  west  of  the  Sound.  Tho  Kamilche  and  Monte- 
sano portion  has  recently  been  acquired  by  the  Northern  Pacific, 
as  a  part  of  the  Tacoma,  Olympia,  and  Gray's  Harbor  Eailroad, 
now  in  progress. 

The  ride  through  the  forest  was  very  pleasant,  the  road  wind- 
ing in  and  out  to  accommodate  itself  to  the  variations  of  surface, 
Tho  various  tints  of  green  with  tho  light  falling  through  made 
a  lovely  study  in  color,  and  the  woodsy  vistas  looked  invitingly 
cool,  yet  with  dashes  of  sunlight  across  them  which  relieved 
them  from  gloom. 

A  feature  of  these  forests,  and  particularly  of  tho  Chehalis 
Valley,  is  the  occurrence  hero  and  there  of  prairie  spots  with 
not  a  tree  upon  thorn.  Those  prairies  were  early  taken  up, 
and  are  known  by  tho  names  of  their  first  settlors,  like  those  at 
the  head  of  the  Sound.  I  counted  eight  of  these  openings  in 
the  forest  provided  by  nature  to  encourage  settlement.  On  one 
of  these,  twelve  miles  above  Montosano,  is  the  town  of  Elma, 
surroimded  by  hop-fields.  It  has  also  a  flouring-mili, — tho  only 
one  in  this  region,  where  the  mills  are  all  lumber  establishments. 
Its  position  in  the  valley  ought  to  insure  its  growth,  which  is 
already  quite  promising.  On  the  last  and  largest  prairie  the 
town  of  Montesano  is  situated.    It  is  well  chosen  for  a  town. 


OLYMPIA    TO  GRAY'S   HARBOR. 


249 


being  at  the  head  of  tido-wator  navigation  on  tho  Chehaliw 
River,  whoro  wo  are  transferred  to  a  small  steamer  to  continue 
our  journey.  Wo  had  encountered  a  number  of  stations  along 
tho  railroad,  and  now  found  a  great  frequency  in  towns  along 
tho  river. 

Montesano  is  the  county-seat  of  Chehalis  County,  although 
it  is  only  since  188''»  that  it  has  enjoyed  that  honor.  Formerly 
Montesano  and  the  county-seat  were  on  the  south  side  of  the  river 
two  miles  below  the  now  town,  at  :i  place  now  called  Wynooche, 
which  has  about  two  hundred  inhabitants  and  is  said  to  be  a 
prosperous  little  settlement.  But  it  is  quite  overshadowed  by 
the  more  modern  town,  which  boasts  a  population  of  over  two 
thousand,  good  public  :vnd  private  schools,  is  lighted  by  electric- 
ity, has  two  saw-mills,  several  manu/actorios,  a  good  country 
trade,  well-stocked  stores,  and  banks.  Its  counfy  buildings  are 
good ;  it  has  an  "  elaborate  system"  of  water-works,  and  is 
about  to  construct  an  electric  railway.  At  least  so  said  my  in- 
formant, and  tho  town  had  a  thrifty  look  which  bore  out  the 
statement,  besides  supporting  a  daily  and  weekly  newspaper. 

A  little  way  below  Wynooche  we  passed  Melbourne,  a  trading- 
post  and  post-office.  I  could  not  sufficiently  admire  the  winding 
river  and  the  overhanging  shrubber}', — the  vine  maple,  with 
its  delicate  spring  tones,  tho  glossy  gray-white  catkins  of  tho 
willows,  tho  dark-green  of  the  crab-apple  and  alder,  tho  silver 
boughs  of  the  hemlock,  and  the  varnished  whorjs  of  the  spruce, 
beyond  all  of  which  was  tho  dark  background  of  cedar-  and  fir- 
trees.  This  wealth  of  arboreal  beauty  reminded  me  of  tho  rich 
foliage  of  the  Florida  bayous,  the  comparison  being  strengthened 
by  the  narrowness  of  the  stream  and  its  frequent  turnings, 
cutting  off  the  views,  so  tiiat  we  seemed  at  the  end  of  our  voy- 
age, which  unexpectedly  recommenced  a  moment  'ater. 

But  soon  the  river  widened,  and  behold  another  town,  very 
prettily  situated,  on  tho  south  side  of  the  river,  and  looking 
bright  and  now,  although  in  fact  tho  oldest  in  the  Gray's  Harbor 
country,  having  been  settled  in  1860.  This  is  Cosmopolis.  Like 
all  the  other  places  of  consequence,  it  has  a  large  saw-mill,  which 
furnishes  employment  to  a  good  many  men.  The  town  has  all 
the  modern  features  of  a  good  hotel,  good  schools,  public  read- 
ing-room, and   church  organizations,  besides   a   healthy  trade 


250 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


1     ; , 

;i  ^:- 

with   the  surrounding  country,     Its  population  is  about  four 
hundroi!. 

Th'-ee  or  four  miles  below  CosmopoliS;  and  on  the  north  side 
of  the  river,  is  Aberdeen.  It  is  situated  ut  the  moutli  of  the 
WisLkah,  a  tributary  of  the  Cbchnhs,  and  just  inside  the  mouth 
of  the  latter  river,  where  it  broadens  out  ii.to  an  inlet  of  Gray's 
Harbor.  This  noint  was  settled,  I  am  told,  by  Samuel  Benn,  in 
l8t)G,  but  no  town  wat;  founded  until  1884.  As  the  little  steamer 
swung  alongside  the  v^harf,  I  was  reminded  of  Asioria,  so  much 
of  the  town  is  built  upon  wharves  extending  over  tide-laud. 
The  whole  of  the  businoss  part  of  the  town  is  planked,  and 
mo^o  of  the  residences  are  on  the  higher  ground.  Four  large 
saw-mills  are  located  here,  a  salmon-cunner)-,  a  foundry  and 
machine  shop,  a  brickyard,  and  a  shipyard.  It  has  an  electric 
light  plant,  good  hotels,  schools,  churches,  banks,  a  populatioii 
of  betweqn  two  and  three  thousand,  and  two  newspapers,  thi 
Herald  and  bulletin.  Early  in  1890  a  company  purchased  land 
on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  laying  it  out  in  town  lots,  and 
calling  it  South  Aberdeen.  The  first  sale  of  any  consequence 
was  made  just  before  I  s.aw  it,  to  a  Michigan  company,  who 
bought  seven  hundred  feet  of  the  water-front  for  the  purpose 
of  erecting  a  shingle-mill  and  box-factory  of  large  capacity. 

I  was  now  in  sight  of  my  destination, — Hoquiam,  on  Gray's 
Harbor, — to  which  wo  steamed  on  after  disembarking  a  large 
number  of  passengers  at  Aberdeen.  A  few  minutes  brought  us 
alongside  a  wharf  at  the  head  of  the  nortli  channel,  and  to  the 
little  maritime  city  with  an  Indian  name,  which  faces  the  south, 
and  lies  nt  the  mouth  of  the  Hoquium  Itivcr.  Like  Aberdeen, 
it  requires  much  planking,  being  laid  out  on  land  which  Van- 
couver, in  1792,  described  as  "low  and  apparently  swampy,  the 
soil  thin  over  a  bed  of  stones  and  pebbles,"  and  the  country  at 
a  small  distance  covered  wdth  wood,  "  principally  pine  of  an 
inferior  growth."  A  hundred  years  may  have  elevated  the  land 
somewhat,  and  have  increased  the  size  of  the  t'-oes,  for  there  is 
only  the  marsh  grass  and  rushes  of  any  tide- flat  to  likon  it  to  a 
swamp,  and  the  trees  are  not  at  present  of  an  inferior  growth. 
The  beach,  like  most  of  these  northern  waters,  is  rough  and 
shingly;  the  flats  and  shallows  being  unsightly  with  the  drift 
brought  down  by  the  rivers.     And  the  mention  of  this  feature 


,4.  ■?+>.-. 


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CT1.W  Jl.  LWi!!W«ll  '9T 


FROM  OLYMPIA  TO  GEA.Y  S  HARBOR. 


251 


reminds  me  that  the  meaning  of  the  word  Hoquiam  ia  "  hungry 
for  wood." 

The  growth  and  business  of  Cosmopolis  and  the  two  Aber- 
deens  was  incited  by  Hoquiam,  which  is  the  father  of  them  all. 
The  histor}'  of  this  section  is  interesting. 

Gray's  Harbor  extends  inland  fifteen  miles,  and  has  a  width 
for  half  that  distance  of  twelve  miles,  gradually  narrowing 
towards  the  etxst  until  it  forms  a  rather  sharp  point  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Chehalis  Eivor.  Tlie  tout  ensemble  is  not  very 
different  from  an  arrow-head.  The  entrance  is  between  two 
sand  spits,  Point  lirownj  on  the  north,  and  Point  Hanson  (Che- 
halis, or  Petersen's  Point),  on  the  south,  and  is  a  mile  and  a 
quarter  witie,  with  a  nearly  straight  channel  a  little  north  of 
east  to  the  mouth  of  the  river ;  the  water  in  the  channel  being 
for  the  greater  part  of  the  distance  twenty-two  feet  at  mean 
low  water,  and  thirty-one  feet  and  upw'ards  at  mean  high  water. 
North  Bay  and  South  Bay  are  north  and  south  of  the  entrance, 
and  separated  from  the  sea  only  by  long  and  narrow  necks  of 
low  land.  Channels  from  the  main  one  ramify  into  these  bays, 
also  one  to  the  mouth  of  John's  River,  which  enters  on  the 
south  side,  another  to  Jones's  Point,  a  little  further  east,  which 
continues  on  to  the  mouth  of  the  Chehalis,  and  is  known  as  the 
South  Channel.  There  is  also  a  channel  running  north  from  the 
main  one  to  the  mouth  of  the  Humptulii>s  Eiver,  an  important 
stream,  and  to  two  other  streams  flowing  into  North  Bay,  besides 
some  cross-channels ;  and  there  is  an  anchorage  of  fully  six 
thousand  acres  in  the  harbor  where  twenty-live  feet  at  low 
tide  is  to  be  found.  Nothing  has  ever  been  done  to  improve 
Graj-'s  Harbor.  Its  commerce  has  been  created  by  private 
enterprise  alone ;  but  there  is  a  petition  before  Congress  asking 
for  surveys  and  improvements,  and  to  have  it  made  a  port  of 
entry.  xV  very  favorable  f<niture  of  this  '-arbt.  •  is  Ihe  absence 
of  the  destructive  teredo,  so  active  in  the  waters  of  the  Sound. 
So  many  fresh-water  streams  come  into  it  that  the  teredo  can- 
not 11. e  in  it,  and  a  ship's  bottom  covered  with  barnacles  is 
ihorougiily  cleaned  in  forty-eight  hours. 

Gray's  Harbor  was  discovered  by  the  same  doughty  Captain 
Gray  \^ho  discovered  the  Columbia,  but  he  modestly  named  it 
Bulfinch  Harbur,  after  one  of  the  owners  of  his  vessel.     He 


I  •  *      'i 

■  Hi 


*•*; 


r.,>'^.-'^lt- 


252 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


i^i^ 


spent  three  days  in  it  with  his  vessel,  trading  with  the  natives, 
who  probably  came  out  to  him  in  canoes,  as  he  makes  no  men- 
tion of  any  riv.-rs  or  the  appearance  of  the  shores.  Gray 
pronounced  the  entrance  a  good  one.  Vancouver's  lieutenant, 
Whidby,  was  ordered  to  survey  it,  but,  after  doing  so, — veiy  im- 
perfectly, it  seems, — pronounced  it  "a  port  of  little  importance," 
which  afforded  "  but  two  or  three  situations  where  boats  could 
ajjproach  sufficiently  near  to  effect  a  landing."  He  also  declared 
the  water  on  the  bar  to  be  so  shallow  that  it  was  impracticable 
for  vessels  even  of  f\  very  moderate  size  to  pass  it  except  near 
high  water,  and  then  "with  the  utmost  caution,"  because  he 
believed  it  a  shifting  bar.  Whether  in  compliment  or  not,  he 
renamed  it  G-ray's  Harbor. 

So  doctors  disagree.  But  it  happened^  as  it  so  often  has,  that 
the  professional  was  wrong  and  the  nor-professional  right.  The 
bar  is  quite  straight  and  well  defined  by  breakers  on  each  side, 
with  a  channel  through  it  a  third  of  a  mile  in  width,  and  a 
depth  of  water  at  low  tide  of  twenty-two  foet,  and  at  high  tide 
of  from  eight  to  fourteen  more.  Vessels  go  in  and  out  all  the 
time  with  perfect  safety  ;  but  a  new  survey  is  in  progress,  which 
will  have  the  result — no  doubt  desired — of  calling  attention  to 
the  actual  merits  of  the  harbor. 

Whether  it  was  the  doubtful  reputa 'on  of  this  port  or  other 
inscrutable  cause  which  prevented  it,  no  commerce  sought  its 
waters.  It  is  true  that  in  1850-51  a  town-site  was  laid  out  by 
John  B.  Chapman,  and  named  Chehalis  City;  but  nothing  ever 
came  of  it,  and  Chapman  went  to  the  Sound.  In  1852  J.  L. 
Scammon  and  four  othei-s  took  claims  where  Montesano  now 
(Stands,  on  the  Chehalis ;  but  the  only  man  who  resided  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river  was  James  A.  Karr,  who  settled  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Hoquiam  River  in  1858,  and  who  still  resides  there. 

But  one  settler  does  not  make  a  c^'nunercial  jiort  any  more 
than  one  swallow  makes  a  summer,  and  Karr  remained  solitary 
with  all  Asia  in  front  of  him  until  some  lumber-dealers  bethough  t 
themselves  of  the  fine  timber  in  the  Chehalis  Valley  and  deter- 
mined to  get  it  to  market.  In  1882  the  Hoquiam  Mill  Company 
was  organised,  with  Mr.  George  H.  Emerson,  manager,  and  a 
new  era  was  inaugurated. 

The  saw-mill  of  to-day  is  very  unlike  the  saw-mill  of  the  past. 


FROM   OLYMPIA   TO   OUAY  8   HAEBOK. 


253 


It  means  stoara-powor,  a  vast  amount  of  machinery,  possibly  a 
railroad,  a  large  force  of  men  both  in  the  logging-camp  and  at 
the  mill,  with  capital  to  set  all  in  motion.  No  attempt  was 
made  at  lirst,  or  at  any  time,  by  the  mill  company,  to  found  a 
town  at  Iloquiam  ;  but  the  activity  imparled  to  the  lower  Che- 
halis  Yalloy  by  the  company's  businesB  led  Mr.  Benn,  before 
mentioned,  to  lay  out  a  town  on  the  Chebalis  and  invite  other 
lumbering  establishments  to  locate  in  it  by  oifering  them  a  gen- 
erous portion  of  his  land.  These  offers  were  at  once  accepted, 
and  the  town  of  Aberdeen  was  making  rapid  strides  befcre  the 
Hoquiam  Land  Company  was  formed,  which  is  a  separate  con- 
cern fro.Tti  the  Northwestern  Lumber  Company  which  owns  the 
Iloquiam  mills. 

It  was  organized  in  1889  by  John  G.  McMillan  and  J.  L. 
Whitney.  Lots  were  readily  disposed  of  to  residents,  and  new- 
comers were  attracted  to  this  location,  which  had  a  greater 
depth  of  water  along  its  front  and  looked  out  on  the  tine  ex- 
panse of  the  harbor.  The  town  was  a  little  more  than  a  year 
old  when  1  paid  my  respects  to  ''*  with  the  purpose  of  verifying 
the  reports  of  it  which  I  had  received,  aijd  had  then  about  fif- 
teen hundred  inhabitants.  I  found  the  Northwestern  Lumber 
Company  to  own  thirteen  hundred  acres  of  fine  timber,  which 
would  yield  from  two  hundred  thousand  to  five  hundred  thou- 
sand feet  per  acre.  Their  mill  turned  out  from  thirty-five  thou- 
sand to  one  hundred  thousand  feet  daily,  which  was  used  in 
building  and  street  improvements  with  no  need  to  export  any. 
The  company  also  carried  on  a  general  merchandising  business 
amounting  to  two  hundred  and  treiit\  thousand  dollars  per 
annum.  A  second  milling  establis!.Miont  had  just  commenced 
operations.  The  town  boasted  an  opera-house,  gas-  and  water- 
works, a  bank,  a  newspaper,  the  Washingtonian,  and  a  board  of 
trade.  It  was  just  completing  a  hotel  of  metropolitan  size  and 
elegance.  The  chief  di'awback  appeared  to  be  the  lack  of  trans- 
portation, steamship  and  sailing  linos  having  not  yet  ai'ranged 
regular  schedules,  and  the  steamboat  and  railroad  lino  to  the 
Sound  being  inadequate  to  the  needs  of  this  and  all  the  other 
communities  in  the  Orray's  Harbor  countrj',  Great  improve- 
ments rapidly  followed,  the  traveller  of  to-day  finding  increased 
facilities  of  all  kinds,  and  a  (own  of  a  growth  which  huM  culled 


'iiil 


254 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


^m 


for  several  acMitions  to  the  original  town  site.  As  a  lesson  in 
town-making  Hoquiam  might  be  studied  with  profit. 

Although  the  original  business  men  of  Hoquiam  took  no  part 
at  first  in  founding  cities,  Aberdeen  and  Hoquiam  had  demon- 
strated the  resources  of  Chehalis  Valley  and  the  importance  of 
Gray's  Harbor  as  an  outlet  to  them. 

Mr.  Emerson  was  the  possessor  of  a  tract  l^'ing  three  miles 
west  of  Hoquiam,  and  directly  facing  the  main  channel,  but 
riot  on  it.  It  would  require  long  wharves  to  reach  out  to  deep 
water,  but  did  not  commerce  build  a  Venice  in  the  midst  of  the 
sea?  and  would  it  not  more  easily  call  into  being  a  city  which 
required  only  some  expensive  harbor  improvements  ?  He 
answered  this  question  by  forming  the  Gray's  Harbor  Company, 
composed  chiefly  of  eastern  capitalists  who  were  seeking  a  loca- 
tion. That  coiTipany  put  money  to  his  land,  constructed  a  forty- 
thousand-dollar  wharf,  cleared  and  impi'oved  the  site  of  Gray's 
Harbor  Cit\',  all  of  which  was  pold  for  out  of  the  sale  of  lots  in 
the  first  six  months,  and  pointed  out  to  railroads  the  short  cut 
to  the  seaboai'd,  which  they  at  once  proceeded  to  take. 

The  work  of  laying  out  the  city  began  in  the  spring  of  1889, 
at  which  time  the  ground  was  covered  with  a  heavj'  growth  of 
timber.  By  employing  hundreds  of  laborers  this  was  removed, 
streets  opened  and  improved,  and  at  the  end  of  a  year  elegant 
buildi.igs  were  going  up  whei'e  late  the  plumy  fir  and  spruce 
tossed  in  the  sea-breeze.  It  is  an  oft-quoted  saying  that  "  Rome 
was  not  made  in  a  day;"  but  we  do  things  better  now,  and  a 
year  or  two  suffices  to  establish  a  city.  Two  railroads  are  at 
this  writing  striving  to  reach  Gray's  Harbor  befoi'e  the  close  of 
1890,  and  they  will  very  nearly  do  it.  There  is  no  longer  any 
doubt,  if  ever  there  was  one,  aboiil  (he  t\iture  of  Gray's  Harbor. 
Additions  are  being  laid  out.  wh-ch  with  the  additions  to 
Hoquiam  and  Aberdeen  will  some  time  compel  a  consolidation. 
Already  their  several  city  governments  are  proposing  to  have 
one  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

The  site  of  Gray's  Harbor  resembles  that  of  Tacoma  in  being 
upon  a  high  bluff  with  railroad  tracks  and  wharves  in  front  of 
It  on  the  bench,  and  also  in  having  a  grand  view.  Mr.  Emerson 
kindly  explained  to  me  the  plan  of  the  company  to  extend  sev- 
eral of  thi   streets  out  to  the  channel.    This  will  be  done  by 


FKOM   OLYMPIA    TO   GRAY'S   HARBOR. 


255 


piling  and  cribbing  and  filling  in  with  the  material  taken  up  by 
dredgers.  Between  these  "  fills"  will  bo  channels  kept  open  by 
dredging.  One  of  the  "fills"  will  be  used  for  milling  purposes, 
basins  being  provided  for  them  made  by  confining  the  water  by 
tide-gates.  This  will  be  an  expensive  but  a  very  convenient 
arrangement,  and,  as  the  numerous  streams  coming  into  the 
Chehalis  and  the  harbor  will  float  the  logs  to  the  basins,  the  ex- 
pense of  i-ailroads  into  the  forest  will  be  obviated.  The  other 
channels  will  furnish  room  for  shipping  in  the  most  compact 
shape  po,ssible,  where  it  will  be  safe  from  the  most  violent  winds 
that  blow  on  the  Pacific. 

One  advantage  of  Gray's  Harbor  is  an  abundance  of  excellent 
water  on  the  bluff,  obtained  without  going  to  any  great  depth. 
Wnenevcr  extensive  water-works  are  required,  there  are  streams 
and  lakes  intiie  high  lands  bordering  the  Chehalis  Valley,  the 
wat  1'  from  which  can  be  brought  down  at  comparatively  small 
cost. 

A  featu"o  common  to  all  new  cities  where  the  people  are 
drawn  togcUier  from  older  towns  is  the  ease  with  which  they 
conglomerate  A  common  interest  levels  for  the  time  the  usual 
distinctions.  I  found  in  Hoquiam  and  Gray's  Harbor,  however, 
suflScient  of  an  intellectual  society  to  forni  a  class,  and  enjoyed 
its  variety,  for  it  was  made  up  of  all  profes.sions.  Among  the 
most  interesting  men  one  meets  in  a  new  country  are  surveyors 
and  engineers.  Their  profession  makes  them  accuiate  ;  they 
have  more  or  less  the  poetical  temperament,  being  close  observers 
of  nature;  and  they  have  had  real  adventures,  which  they  tell 
with  becoming  modesty.  I  cannot  swell  the  pages  of  this  book 
by  describing  the  people  I  have  met,  though  T  would  like  to  do 
so,  but  the  reader  will  get  the  benefit,  if  benefit  it  is  esteemed, 
of  some  things  I  have  learned  from  them,  in  the  cource  of  these 
chapters. 

One  of  my  excursions  from  Hoquiam  was  to  a  logging-Camj) 
several  miles  from  town,  the  journey  being  performed  in  a  small 
boat  propelled  by  oars  in  the  hands  of  the  owner  of  the  camp, 
who  treated  our  party  most  politely,  and  by  his  exploits  showed 
himself  a  thorough  lumberman.  Our  boating  ended,  wc  walked 
a  mile  or  more  through  the  woods,  over  a  very  rough  tT.iii, 
really  performing  a  portage  around  the  dam  constructed  for 


Pi 


mm  <: 


256 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


v! 


[i  ' 


:'     t 


"chuting"  logs  into  the  stream  below.  Having  been  refreshed 
with  an  excellent  dinner  in  a  comfortable  mess-house,  we  wore 
taken  to  where  the  woodmen  were  felling  trees,  standing  on 
tiny  platforms  made  by  inserting  a  short  board  in  a  cut  in  the 
tree,  five,  ten,  or  fifteen  feet  from  the  ground.  I  had  suppofeed 
that  this  was  necessary,  either  on  account  of  the  size  of  some 
trees  at  the  butt,  or  because  of  the  pitch  contained  in  them  ;  but 
our  host  assured  me  the  great  height  at  which  some  of  the 
choppers  or  sawyers  stood  was  simply  an  exhibition  of  bravado 
— the  common  ambition  to  excel  one's  neighbor  in  skill  or 
daring. 

In  felling  a  tree  the  foreman  takes  pains  to  direct  its  fall  so  as 
not  to  injure  any  other  valuable  tree  in  its  descent,  and  they  do 
this  to  a  nicety  by  inserting  wedges  on  the  side  opposite  to  the 
direction  in  which  it  is  to  fall  which  give  it  the  necessary  tilt. — 
for  so  straight  are  these  great  firs  and  cedars  that,  frequently, 
they  will  stand  erect  after  they  have  been  cut  to  the  centre  all 
round,  and  wait  for  a  breeze  to- sway  them  to  a  fall. 

It  was  evident  there  was  an  immense  wr.cttj,  ten  or  twenty 
feet  of  a  tree  at  the  thickest  part,  and  then  the  reckless  destruc- 
tion of  all  that  are  untit  for  the  finest  lumber.  I  was  regretting 
this  to  our  host.  "  The  timber  grows  as  fast  or  faster  than  it  is 
consumed,"  was  the  reph'.  Admitting  that  this  is  true  where 
young  timber  is  left  undisturbed,  the  forest  lands  when  cleared 
by  axe  and  fire  are  put  under  cultivation,  except  on  the  moun- 
tains, and  thus  the  amount  must  be  rapidly  lessening. 

Having  seen  a  few  trees  fall,  we  were  shown  the  manner  of 
hauling  them  to  the  stream,  six  or  eight  3-okes  of  oxen  being 
hitched  to  a  single  log.  The  lower  side  of  the  log  has  been 
peeled  before  )eing  placed  on  the  skid,  which  is  well  greased. 
The  oxen  are  1  eti  ilHvplj  (ly  experienced  men,  who  receive  bet- 
ter wages  thai  nhy  l>ui  tlie  foreman  and  cooh.  This  latter  ex- 
ception made  nie  HiiiiK-,  but  1  tlnd  that  cooks  are  important 
personages  in  camps  everywhere.  These  western  lumbermen 
do  not  feed  their  men,  as  the  AJichigan  liiuiliei'liien  fin,  hwf  give 
them  a  variety  of  fresh  luid  canned  foodM. 

Having  watched  the  hauling  of  logs,  and  their  HkiU'nl  fTififi- 
agement  to  prevent  tlieni  fVom  slipping  forward  on  the  cattle, 
and  their  descent  into  the  basin  above  t]ie  dam  with  a  deep 


FROM   OLYMPIA    TO   GRAY'S    HARBOR. 


257 


dive,  or  a  splash  and  a  glide,  we  walked  down  to  the  dam  to 
witness  a  '•  shoot"  of  the  chute  when  the  gate  was  raised.  Tliis 
operation  requires  quickness  and  nerve,  and  was  superintended 
by  our  host.  The  water  rushing  out  of  the  basin  carries  with  it 
a  groat  weight  of  logs,  which  must  not  be  allowed  to  make  f 
"jam"  against  the  dam.  The  men  are  on  the  logs  with  pikes 
directing  them  so  as  to  head  them  for  the  opening  and  send  them 
endwise  down  the  slide  below  the  dam^  when  they  take  a  header 
into  the  stream  with  a  mighty  splash,  and  go  floating  tumultu- 
(nisly  down  the  agitated  water  to  be  arrested  by  a  boom  at  the 
creek's  mouth,  and  made  into  a  raft  for  Gray's  Harbor. 
.  The  wages  paid  to  men  in  this  camp  is  from  forty  dollars  to 
sixty  dollars,  the  foi'cman  getting  one  hundred  and  forty.  The 
price  of  logs  is  three  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  thousand  feet 
in  the  water.  The  price  paid  to  the  owner  of  the  land  is  fifty 
cents  per  thousand.  The  average  per  acre  is  fifty  thousand  feet 
of  fir  and  spruce.  The  cost  of  putting  in  a  dam  is  from  three 
thousand  dollars  to  ten  thousand  dollars  ;  the  skidded  road  costs 
one  thousand  dollars  per  mile ;  the  teams  for  hauling,  one  thou- 
sand dollars;  the  mess-house  and  dormitory,  two  hundred  dollars 
or  three  hundred  dollars.  Nine  or  ton  men  at  the  wages  named 
above,  with  their  board,  cost  per  month  about  six  hundred  dol- 
lars, and  the  supplies  for  the  oxen  eighty  dollars.  These  figures 
make  this  camp  cost  for  its  first  outfit,  being  very  conveniently 
located,  about  five  thousand  dollars,  and  its  expenses  for  a  season 
of  six  months  five  thousand  dollars  more.  Its  profits  depend, 
of  course,  on  the  amount  gotten  into  the  water  ready  for  the 
mills.  A.  good  deal  of  money  is  disbursed  in  the  towns  of 
Washington,  every  winter,  by  loggers. 

As  I  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  again  of  the  lumber  interest, 
I  will  leave  it  here  for  the  present  and  return  to  the  subject  of 
towns  and  settleme.its. 

Facing  the  south  channel,  and  almost  directly  opposite  the 
city  of  Gi-ay's  Harbor  is  Gray's  Harbor  City,  whichvhas  not  yet 
become  formidable  as  a  rival  to  the  towns  on  the  north  side.  A 
little  distance  beyond  or  west  of  it  is  South  Harbor,  another 
small  place,  which  has  the  advantage  of  being  at  a  point  where 
the  south  channel  approaches  closely  to  the  shore  with  a  cross- 
channel  almost  due  north  to  the  Gray's  Harbor    wharf.     At 

17 


258 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


^i'  n 


i'A^  .^'        * ' 


the  mouth  of  Johns  River  is  the  Mivrliham  iiost-offlce,  and  still 
farther  west  is  Bay  City,  at  the  bead  of  South  Bay.  A  milling 
establishment — Tiaidiovv's — has  just  thought  of  starting  a  sale 
of  town  lots  on  the  neck  of  land  between  South  Bay  and  the 
ocean.  Thus  the  success  of  one  point  stimulates  ambition  in 
others  to  compete  with  it. 

About  half-way  between  Markham  and  Bay  City  is  the  point 
selected  bv  the  Northern  Pacific  Euilroad  for  a  terminus  on  the 
harbor,  and  its  name  is  Ocosta.  This  terminal  cit}'  was  founded 
on  the  first  of  May,  1890  ;  therefore  I  was  almost  at  its  christen- 
ing. Over  throe  hundred  lots  were  sold  on  this  occasion,  but 
the  company  have  exhibited  but  little  interest  since,  and  some 
observers  have  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  was  the  company's 
intention  to  extend  its  line  to  Shoalwator  Bay,  about  fifteen 
miles  south  of  Ocosta.  But  whether  or  not  that  is  the  com- 
pany's present  intention,  it  can  do  so  whenever  there  is  a  motive 
for  it.  , 

The  situation  of  Ocosta  with  reference  to  the  channel  is  some- 
what similar  to  that  of  Gray's  Harbor;  that  is,  long  wharves 
will  have  to  be  built  out  to  it,  if  not  as  long  as  those  on  the 
north  side.  It  has  a  tide-flat  in  front,  and  the  main  part  of  the 
town  plat  on  a  level  bench  thirty -five  to  fifty  feet  above  the  flat. 
There  is  good  anchorage  in  South  Bay,  and  a  belt  of  timber 
shelters  the  site  of  the  town  from  the  strong  ocean  winds  which 
blow  up  and  down  the  coast  not  more  than  four  miles  west  of 
Ocosta.  These  are  the  main  features  of  the  new  Northern 
Pacific  Terminus.  . 

[I  have  learned  authentically,  since  writing  the  above,  that 
the  population  of  Ocosta  now  numbers  (January  1, 1891)  three 
hundred,  and  about  fifty  buildings  have  been  erected.  A  wharf 
and  warehoiise  have  been  built,  and  a  saw-mill  with  a  capacity 
of  seventy-five  thousand  feet  per  diem,  a  sash-  and  door-factory 
abont  completed,  and  three  shingle-mills  have  been  added  to 
the  substantial  improvements  of  the  town.  A  bank  has  been 
doing  business  for  tw.o  months.  Two  hotels  entertain  guests, 
and  a  third  is  in  course  of  construction,  while  the  land  company 
and  railroad  company  are  planning  one  of  those  modern  cara- 
vansaries which  ai*e  the  corner-stones  of  new  western  cities. 
Ocosta,  like  Hoquiam  and  Aberdeen,  has  resorted  to  planking 


FROM   OI.YMPIA   TO  OTJAY's   HARnoil. 


259 


for  improviiiijf  itn  main  business  street.  TIki  railroad  company's 
shops  and  rouiul-liouse  will  bo  hero,  and  trains  will  bo  running 
from  Tacoma  to  Ocosta  on  the  1st  of  March,  IHOl.  About  tho 
same  time,  if  not  sooner,  trains  will  bo  runnini^  from  Tacoma  to 
the  city  of  Gray's  Harbor,  over  the  Tacoma,  Olympia  and  Gray's 
Harbor  Railroad,  or,  as  people  hero  call  it,  "  Hunt's  road."  Tho 
developments  to  follow  on  both  sides  of  the  harbor  will  prob- 
ably far  outdo  tho  progress  of  the  previous  year.] 

It  is  evident,  from  the  superficial  observations  hero  recorded, 
that  the  State  of  Washington  has  a  good  possession  in  the  valley 
of  the  Chehalis,  from  its  eastern  end,  where  it  includes  the  coal- 
fields and  lumber-tracts  in  tho  vicinity  of  Chohalis  City  and 
Centralia,  to  tho  Pacific  Ocean.  Its  destiny  will  bo  given  shape 
when  the  two  railroads  now  nearing  completion  reach  the  har- 
bor and  have  settled  do^vn  to  transportation  business. 

It  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  know  that  Hoquiam  and 
Gray's  Harbor  gave  Hunt  a  bonus  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand  dollars ;  Aberdeen,  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand 
dollars;  and  Montesano,  twenty-five  thousand  dollars.  That  is 
not  the  way  pioneers  used  to  begin  life. 

The  resources  of  this  valley,  which  includes  the  whole  of 
Chehalis,  a  corner  of  Thurston,  and  the  western  end  of  Lewis 
Counties,  are  prodigious.  In  the  first  place,  the  coal-fields  at 
its  eastern  end  embrace  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  acres. 
The  quality  and  reputation  of  lignite  which  attached  to  the 
Chehalis  coal-fields  for  a  long  time  militated  against  their  devel- 
opment, but  enterprises  of  a  few  recent  years  have  established 
the  existence  of  a  practically  exhaustless  body  of  clean  bitu- 
i.n'nous  coal  in  these  fields,  containing  from  ninety  to  ninety-five 
per  cent,  of  carbon,  in  veins  of  a  thickness  of  six  feet,  with  a 
dip  favorable  to  mining.  Hence  these  railroads  i'ivalling  each 
other  to  cover  this  territory.  And  these  coal-mines  lie  beneath 
a  forest  of  merchantable  timber.  It  will,  no  doubt,  be  a  casus 
belli  between  the  railroads, — the  control  of  the  ti'ansportation 
of  coal  and  lumber  from  this  favored  section.  But  as  the  Pacific 
Ocean  is  only  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  from 
any  of  the  coal-fields  here  referred  to,  Gray's  Harbor  has  a 
great  advantage  over  the  Sound  or  Columbia  River  towns  as  a 
direct  route  to  the  sea,  there  being  a  saving  in  distance  over  the 


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260 


ATLAKTIS   ARISEN. 


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former  of  several  hundred  miles,  and  over  the  latter  of  about 
eighty.  It  is  claimed  here  that  vessels  loading  or  discharging 
in  Gray's  Harbor  save  seven  hundred  miles  in  going  and  return- 
ing to  Puget  Sound  ports,  from  eight  to  ten  days  of  lime,  and 
from  six  hundred  dollars  to  one  thousand  dollars  in  towage, — 
only  ton  miles  of  towing  being  required  to  take  a  ship  out  of 
the  harbor, — and  that  they  decrease  their  rates  of  insurance  by 
avoiding  the  stormy  coast  of  Cape  Flattery,  at  the  entrance  to 
the  Strait  of  Fuca. 

The  arguments  in  favor  of  Gray's  Harbor  reach  further,  and 
say  that  wheat  from  East  Washington  once  loaded  onto  cars 
could  moi'e  cheaply  roll  right  on  to  Gray's  Harbor  over  the 
Northern  Pacific  or  Hunt's  road,  and  be  transferred  to  vessels 
there,  than  to  sail  the  additional  distance  from  Tacoma  out 
through  the  Straits.  Certainly  the  dikes  projected  in  front  of 
the  city  of  Gray's  Harbor  will  afford  admirable  sites  for  grain- 
elevators,  to  be  used  in  loading  ships.  With  some  comparatively 
cheap  improvement  upon  the  bar  it  is  contended  that  this  port 
is  equal,  if  not  greatly  superior  in  its  facilities  for  commerce, 
to  any  on  the  Northwest  coast.  And  it  seems  as  if  nature 
should  have  provided  such  an  outlet  as  this  is  claimed  to  be  for 
the  wealth  within  easy  reach  of  it. 

The  timber  which  is  tributary  to  the  Chehalis  Valley  is  not 
only  that  which  covers  so  large  an  area  in  the  valley  proper, 
and  its  tribulaiy  valleys,  which  is  estimated  at  ninety  billions  of 
feet,  but  there  is  an  equal  amount  on  the  south  and  west  of  the 
Olympic  Mountains  which  can  only  be  brought  out  in  this  direc- 
tion, and  which  is  the  largest  and  best  timber  in  the  State,  un- 
surveyed  and  untouched  bj''  the  axe  of  the  logger.  Great  as 
are  the  well-known  timber  resources  of  Washington,  it  appears 
that  more  than  a  third  of  the  whole  must  find  its  outlet  at 
Gray's  Harbor.  A  glance  at  the  map  shows  a  stream  every  few 
miles  falling  into  Gray's  Harbor  or  t^e  Chehalis,  which  seem 
to  have  been  designed  for  "  driving"  logs  out  of  this  immense 
forest.  Many  of  these  are  navigable  for  considerable  distances 
where  not  choked  up  with  a  "jam"  of  fallen  timber,  some  of 
them  having  a  depth  of  forty  feet  and  over. 

The  largest  of  the  streams  emptying  into  tide-water  are  the 
Sumptulips,  Hoquiam,  Wishkab,  and  Wynooche,  all  on  the 


FROM   OLYMPIA   TO  GRAY'S   HARBOR. 


261 


north,  showing  their  sources  to  be  in  the  Olympic  Eange. 
There  are  many  lesser  streams  on  the  same  side,  and  also  many 
coming  from  highlands  south  of  the  mouth  of  the  Chehalis. 
Above  Montesano  the  Chehalis  receives  the  Satsop  from  the 
Olympics,  and  Black  River  from  the  Cascades.  The  aggregate 
length  of  streams  available  for  logging  purposes  is  two  thousand 
miles.  Such  figures  stagger  comprehension,  standing  on  the 
shoi'eof  this  broad,  bright,  butlonelj-  bay,  its  townlets  crowded 
for  room  in  the  edge  of  those  "  continuous  woods"  which  are 
their  dependence  and  their  glory. 

As  to  agriculture,  its  day  has  hardly  begun.  The  lands  of 
the  Chehalis  raise  cereal  and  root  crops,  fruit,  and  hops  equally 
well.  There  is  a  ready  market  in  the  towns  for  everything  pro- 
duced. The  countr}'  near  the  coast,  on  account  of  its  moist 
and  cool  climate,  is  an  excellent  one  for  grasses  and  dairying. 
The  valleys  of  the  streams  named  above  are  rich  and  fertile. 
In  the  Ilumptulips  are  about  thirty  townships  of  excellent  land, 
little  of  which  is  occupied.    Other  valleys  are  almost  unexplored. 

The  industries  of  the  county  are  not  yet  shaped,  if  we  except 
lumbering,  ship-building,  and  fish-canning.  The  only  one  I 
heard  spoken  as  about  to  be  commenced  wasbrickmaking,  there 
being  a  quality  of  clay  near  the  city  of  Gray's  Harbor  which  it 
was  believed  would  make  a  brick  which  could  be  vitrified,  and 
which  was  desired  for  the  construction  of  a  grand  hotel.  I  also 
heard  it  mentioned  that  the  hemlock  growing  so  abundantly 
near  the  coast  offered  inducements  for  tanneries  to  be  located  in 
this  region. 

There  are  banks  of  cod  and  halibut  off  the  coast  for  deep- 
sea  fishing;  salmon  ("Columbia  River  turkey,"  I  have  heard 
it  called)  in  abundance  in  the  harbor  and  rivers  tributary, 
and  trout  in  the  mountain-streams.  There  are  in  the  harbor 
porgies,  tom-cods,  rock-trout,  flounders,  iierring,  smelt,  sardines, 
and  salmon-trout,  while  the  tide-flats  abound  in  clams  and  soft- 
shell  crabs. 

Some  idea  of  the  commerce  of  the  lower  Chehalis  Yalley 
may  bo  gathered  from  the  fact  that  for  one  year,  ending  Jul}'  1, 
1890,  there  was  imported  seventy  thousand  tons  of  merchan- 
dise. This  trade  was  carried  on  with  San  Francisco  and  Port- 
land.   It  remains  to  be  seen  what  effect  the  completion  of  rail- 


|: 


!! 


li  M? 


Ifll 


262 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


roads  from  the  Sound  will  produce,  and  whether  Gray's  Harbor 
will  not  set  up  jobbing-houses  of  its  own.  In  1889  there  was 
but  one  steamer  a  month  from  San  Francisco;  in  1890  there 
was  one  every  twelve  days.  When  the  railroads  are  opened  to 
travel,  that  will  of  course  be  too  slow,  with  such  marvellous 
quickness  do  affairs  move  in  this  wondrous  wilderness. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 


OLYMPIC   GOSSIP. 


There  is  a  club-shaped  piece  of  territory  north  of  the  Che 
halis  Eiver  and,  Gra)''8  Harbor,  fifty  miles  broad  at  its  base  and 
probably  eighty  ut  its  northern  end,  which  has  the  Pacific 
Ocean  on  the  west,  the  Fuca  Strait  on  the  north,  and  Hood's 
Canal  on  the  east,  and  is  known  as  the  Olympic  Peninsula. 
It  consists  of  a  mass  of  mountains,  highest  and  most  broken  on 
the  norih  and  east,  the  range  following  the  strait  and  Hood's 
Canal,  and  sloping  off  in  a  chaos  of  lesser  mountains  towards 
the  west  and  south. 

It  was  a  happy  thought  of  the  Englishman  Meares,  on  July 
4,  1788,  to  name  the  highest  peak  of  the  main  range  Mount 
Olympus,  for  sacred  to  the  gods  it  has  remained  from  the  crea- 
tion until  the  present  yeai*,  1890.  All  that  was  known  of  it 
during  forty-five  yeare  of  settlement  on  Puget  Sound  was  con- 
fined to  a  few  miles  of  border  land  on  the  three  sides  bounded, 
by  water.  No  government  surveys  were  made  except  at  a  few 
points  along  the  strait  and  a  single  one  on  the  sea-coast,  where 
a  light-house  was  erected  to  warn  off,  not  to  attract,  the  curious. 
Two  Indian  reservations  were  located  on  the  sea-side,  but  nobody 
on  them  knew  anything  about  the  interior, — not  even  the  In- 
dians. No  "  darkest  Africa"  could  be  more  unknown.  Imagi- 
nation peopled  it  with  giants  or  pigmies,  according  to  the  taste 
of  the  dreamer.  Through  it  roamed  the  fiercest  wild  beasts, 
and  in  the  solemn  gloom  of  its  forest-hidden  caves  was  concealed 
treasure  incalculable. 


OLYMPIC  GOSSIP. 


263 


History  tells  us  of  numerous  native  tribes  who  a  hundred 
years  ago  indulged  in  stratagems  to  board  the  unwary  ship- 
master's vessel  and  massacre  the  crew,  and  who  entertained 
dusky  royalty  ivith  the  exhibition  of  sawing  off  the  heads  of  a 
dozen  or  two  of  slaves  to  show  kingly  prodigality.  They  gave 
the  early  settlers  on  Puget  Sound  a  good  deal  of  trouble,  being 
very  active  pirates,  and  the  opportunities  for  the  invasion  of 
settlements,  or  capture  and  murder  of  small  parties  in  boats, 
being  too  convenient  to  be  resisted. 

The  Makahs  were  perhaps  the  worst  of  these,  whose  reserva- 
tion is  on  the  extreme  northwest  corner  of  the  peninsula.  They 
are  brave  fellows,  and  dare  to  chase  whales  in  their  sea-canoes. 
When  a  whale  is  seen  spouting  the  fact  is  reported  to  a  modi- 
cine-man,  who  allots  to  each  canoe  to  bo  engaged  in  the  chaso 
the  requisite  number  of  skilled  oarsmen  and  a  harpoon-throwor. 
This  instrument  is  made  of  pieces  of  olkhorn,  ornamented  with 
carving,  joined  together  in  the  shape  of  a  V,  and  having  a  sharp 
steel  like  an  awl  at  the  point,  to  which  is  fastened  a  long  and 
strong  rope  made  from  the  sinews  of  a  whale.  When  about  to 
be  thrown  the  harpoon  is  inserted  in  a  slender  shaft  of  tough 
yew  wood,  which  drives  it  deep  into  the  body  of  leviathan,  where 
the  barbs  hold  it. 

The  chase  is  never  undertaken  without  the  performance  of 
religious  ceremonies  or  necromancy,  intended  to  give  the  har- 
pooner  the  victory  in  the  coming  struggle.  The  medicine-man 
and  the  harpoonor,  blessed  by  him,  occupy  the  leading  canoe ; 
then  come  the  other  members  of  the  whaling  fleet,  followed  by 
a  reserve  of  two  canoes.  They  cross  out  over  the  breakers 
with  great  skill,  and  put  to  sea  to  watch  for  the  reappearance 
of  their  game. 

A  whale  usually  plays  along  near  the  surface  for  some  littlr 
time,  blowing  at  intervals,  then  throws  himself  out  of  the  water 
and  dives  deep  down,  remaining  below  for  a  cori*esponding  time, 
which  the  Indians  from  observation  can  calculate,  as  well  as  the 
place  where  he  will  again  come  to  the  surface.  They  take  a 
position  near  this  place  and  watch  for  the  auspicious  moment, 
which  is  when  the  whale  "  humps  himself"  to  make  a  dive. 

The  harpooner,  his  terra-cotta-colored  figure  nicely  poised  in 
the  bow  of  the  canoe  and  harpoon  raised  above  his  head,  waits 


264 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


'' 


;  l.« 


«*     ;f 


for  the  command  to  throw.  It  comes,  "  latah !"  and  the  instru- 
ment descends  with  cruel  force  and  precision  into  the  whale's 
body,  followed  by  others,  and  the  oarsmen  quickl;'  back  away 
to  escape  the  commotion  which  the  creature's  huge  tail  creates 
in  the  water  when  it  is  wounded.  Other  lines  are  attached  to 
the  harpoon-lines,  to  which  are  fastened  "floats"  made  of  the 
stomachs  of  the  hair-seal,  filled  with  air,  to  prevent  the  canoes 
from  being  drawn  under  water. 

In  his  agony  the  whale  tit  first  lashes  the  sea  furiously,  then 
starts  off"  on  a  run,  and  drags  the  canoes.  But  with  half  a 
dozen  harpoons  in  him  he  is  doomed.  Should  night  come  on, 
or  the  sea  be  rough,  the  canoes  are  detached,  and  the  whale  left 
to  die  at  his  leisure,  prevented  from  going  to  the  bottom  by  the 
lines  of  floats  attached  to  him.  He  may  travel  all  night  and  all 
the  following  day,  but  not  straight  ahead,  and  is  usually  found 
in  the  morning,  when  if  he  shows  game  the  boats  are  again 
fastened  to  the  lines,  and  away  they  go  once  more,  moving 
about  in  a  circle  of  fifteen  or  twenty  miles.  When  at  last  the 
whale  succumbs,  the  carcass  is  towed  ashore,  the  tide  assisting 
to  beach  it.  When,  this  happens  there  is  a  race  to  be  i\.v  first 
to  touch  the  body,  as  thereby  one  becomes  eligible  to  the  ofllce 
of  chief  harpooner,  or  hoa-chin-i-ca-ha.* 

The  medicine-man  removes  the  whale's  eyes,  which  he  uses  in 
his  incantations ;  runners  are  sent  out  to  collect  the  tribe,  and 
the  whale's  blubber  is  cut  up  and  divided  among  them.  As 
much  as  one  thousand  or  fifteen  hundred  gallons  of  oil  are 
obtained  from  one  whale.  When  all  are  present  a  "  potlatch," 
or  feast,  is  held,  presided  over  by  the  "  medicine,"  and  the  fes- 
tivities close  with  libations  of  fire-water,  poured,  if  not  to  the 
gods  of  Olympus,  down  the  thirsty  throats  of  these  savages. 

*  This  account  of  whale-chasing  is  merely  a  synopsis  of  a  very  interesting 
description  by  an  eye-witness, — H.  D.  C, — published  in  the  Oregonian.  On 
the  occasion  of  his  observations  at  Neah  Bay,  one  of  the  pursuing  boats  con- 
taining seven  Indians  became  separated  from  the  fleet  and  was  lost.  There  is 
a  life-saving  stiition  at  Neah.  Bay,  which  could,  however,  be  of  no  use  to  a 
canoe  in  distress  in  the  open  sea.  The  neighborhood  of  Cape  Flattery  is  the 
centre  frequently  of  wild  stonns,  and  is  often  overhung  with  thick  fogs.  A 
long  list  of  vessels  lost  about  this  part  of  the  coast  miglit  bo  given,  and  yet 
the  life-saving  sUition  there  is  very  ill  equipped  and  inefficient. 


OLYMPIC  GOSSIP. 


265 


Whether  by  the  dangers  of  whale-chasing,  the  decimation  of 
wars,  or  the  importation  of  foreign  diseases,  most  of  the  Makahs 
have  died  off,  and  the  places  that  knew  them  shall  know  them 
no  more. 

On  the  Quinault  (pronounced  Keen-nut)  reservation  are 
about  four  hundred  and  fifty  men,  women,  and  children,  who 
occupy  about  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand  acres.  They  are 
a  degraded  tribe,  whom  the  agents  appointed  to  instruct  thorn 
have  been  unable  to  elevate  to  a  comprehension  of  the  ideas 
entertained  by  civilized  people.  Their  houses  are  more  com- 
fortable than  those  of  the  tribes  of  the  interior,  being  con- 
structed of  planks  hewn  from  cedar  or  spruce,  set  up  on  end, 
and  roofed  with  like  material.  The  floor  is  of  earth,  and  is  a 
foot  below  the  level  of  the  ground.  A  raised  platform,  which 
serves  for  seat  or  bed,  runs  along  the  sides.  Mats  are  used  to 
sleep  on.  Several  families  occupy  one  house,  and  cook  at  a 
common  fire  in  the  centre,  the  smoke  escaping  from  an  open- 
ing in  the  roof  The  women  are  simply  slaves.  They  provide 
everything  the  family  requires  except  game  and  fish,  and 
make  all  the  clothing  for  both  sexes.  Chastity  is  not  in  favor, 
the  absence  of  it  being  more  profitable.  The  food  of  the  tribe 
consists,  after  game  and  fish,  of  roots,  berries,  water-fowl,  eggs 
of  wild  fowl,  and  shell-fish.  Meat  is  not  much  eaten,  and  at 
their  feasts  they  drink  bear-,  seal-,  and  whale-oil,  and  are  not 
particular  about  the  condition  of  the  whale-blubber,  which  they 
consume  in  every  state  of  putridity. 

When  an  attempt  was  made  to  establish  a  salmon-cannery  at 
Quinault,  it  failed  on  account  of  the  high  price  demanded  by 
the  natives  for  fish,  they  shrewdly  deciding,  no  doubt,  that  it 
was  not  good  policy  to  encourage  the  too  rapid  destruction  of 
their  food  supply. 

Whether  from  indolence  or  superstitious  dread,  these  people 
were  as  wholly  ignorant  of  the  interior  of  the  peninsula  as  the 
white  intruders. 

The  names  of  the  streams  coming  down  from  the  mountains 
on  the  coast  side  are  Menotelops,  Moclips,  Chepalis,  Quinault, 
Eaft,  Queets,  Ohalat,  Bagachiel  Killiwah,  Solduck,  Dicky, 
Quillayute,  Osette,  and  Waach.  On  the  north,  falling  into  the 
Strait  of  Fuca,  are  Oleho,  Clallam,  Lyre,  Elwha,  and  Dungeness. 


236 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


-  HU 


The  most  of  those  names,  as  will  bo  seen,  are  aboriginal,  while 
Lieutenant  Meares  is  responsible  for  Dungenesa.  On  the  east, 
flowing  into  Hood's  Canal,  are  the  Quilcone,  Leland,  Sylopish, 
and  Skokomish,  and  many  smaller  ones  without  names.  Several 
of  these  rivers  could  be  navigated  with  small  steamers  by  sim- 
ply removing  accumulations  of  drift. 

The  laying  out  of  towns  on  Gray's  Harbor  and  exploration 
of  its  tributary  rivers  by  "  timber  cruisers"  awakened  so  great 
an  interest  in  the  Olympic  Peninsula  that,  if  any  prospector  or 
party  of  adventurei's  penetrated  even  a  few  miles  beyond  the 
heretofore  known  limits  of  exploration,  the  fact  was  quickly 
given  to  the  public  with  as  much  eclat  as  if  it  had  been  indeed 
Darkest  Africa,  and  these  pathfinders  all  Livingstones  and 
Stanleys. 

Up  to  this  time  the  most  generally  accepted  theory  of  the 
country  in  the  interior,  according  to  one  writer,  was  that  it  con- 
sisted of  valleys  sloping  inward  from  the  mountains  to  a  great 
central  basin.  In  support  of  this  belief  it  was  pointed  out  that, 
notwithstanding  the  country  round  about  had  abundant  rain, 
and  that  clouds  constantly  hung  over  the  mountain-tops,  all  the 
streams  flowing  towai'ds  the  four  points  of  the  compass  were 
too  insignificant  to  drain  the  great  area  shut  in  by  the  mountains. 
(This  was  not  true,  as  I  have  shown,  concerning  the  south  side.) 
This  writer  fancied  a  great  interior  lake,  but  could  not  account 
for  its  drainage  except  by  imagining  a  subterranean  outlet.  He 
urged  some  adventurous  persons  to  "  acquire  fame  by  unveiling 
the  mystery  which  wraps  the  land  eucii'cled  by  the  snow-capped 
range." 

"  Superstition,"  remarked  Governor  Semple,  in  his  official 
report  for  1888,  "  lends  its  aid  to  the  natural  obstacles  in  pro- 
serving  the  integrity  of  this  grand  wilderness.  The  Indians 
have  traditions  in  regard  to  happenings  therein,  ages  ago,  which 
were  so  terrible  that  tho  memory  of  them  has  endured  until 
this  day  with  a  vividness  that  controls  the  actions  of  men.  In 
those  remote  times,  say  the  aborigines,  an  open  valley  existed 
on  the  upper  Wynooskie,  above  the  cafion,  in  the  heart  of  the 
Olympic  Range.  This  valley  was  wide  and  level,  and  the 
mountains  hedged  it  in  on  every  side.  Its  main  extent  was 
open  land,  matted  with  grass  and  sweet  with  flowers,  while  the 


OLYMPIC   GOSSIP. 


267 


edge  of  the  river  and  the  foot  of  the  hills  were  fringed  with 
deciduous  trees.  Hero  peace  was  enshrined  and  the  warriors 
of  the  different  tribes  congregated  once  a  yeai",  to  engage  in 
friendly  rivalry  in  the  games  that  were  known  to  them,  and  to 
traffic  with  each  other  in  such  articles  of  commerce  as  they 
possessed.  No  account  exists  of  any  violation  of  the  neutrality, 
but  a  great  catastrophe  occurred  during  the  continuance  of  one 
of  their  festivals  from  which  only  a  few  of  the  assembled 
Indians  escaped.  According  to  the  accounts  of  the  Indians,  the 
great  Seatco,  chief  of  all  evil  spirits,  a  giunt  who  could  trample 
whole  war  parties  under  his  feet,  and  who  could  traverse  >he 
air,  the  water,  and  the  land  at  will,  whose  stature  was  above 
the  tallest  fir-trees,  whose  voice  was  louder  than  the  roar  of 
the  ocean,  and  whose  aspect  was  more  terrible  than  that  of  the 
fiercest  wild  beast,  who  came  and  went  upon  the  wings  of  the 
wind,  who  could  tear  up  the  forest  by  the  roots,  heap  the  rocks 
into  mountains,  and  change  the  course  of  rivers  with  his 
breath,  became  oflbnded  at  them  and  caused  the  earth  and 
waters  to  swallow  them  up — all  but  a  few,  who  wex'e  spared 
that  they  might  cany  the  story  of  his  wrath  to  their  tribes, 
and  warn  them  that  they  were  banished  from  the  happy  valley 
forever." 

"  The  next  person,"  says  Semplo,  "  to  stand  upon  the  scene  of 
the  ancient  convulsion  will  be  the  all-conquering  '  average  man' 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  who  will  tear  up  the  matted  grass  and 
the  sweet  flowers  with  his  plow,  and  deprecate  the  proximity 
of  the  snow-clad  peaks  because  they  threaten  his  crops  with 
early  frosts  and  harbor  the  coyote  that  tears  his  sheep." 

Such  were  the  ideas  entertained  even  by  intelligent  people 
as  late  as  1888,  and  hence  "Oljmpic"  and  "Olympian"  were 
words  very  appropriately  applied  to  these  mountains.  The 
trader  Meares  knew  as  little  of  these  mysterious  heights  as  the 
Greeks  of  the  summits  of  their  Olympus.  The  loftiest  one  is 
eight  thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  while  Mount  Con- 
stance, the  second  highest,  is  seven  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
seventy  teet  above  the  sea. 

A  few  prospectors  had  penetrated  a  little  distance  into  the 
mountains  from  the  settlements  along  the  Strait,  who  gave 
glowing  accounts  of  the  possibilities  of  this  region,— its  im- 


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P- 

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268 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


menso  forests  of  fir,  cedar,  spruce,  and  hemlock,  its  numerous 
small  but  rich  valleys,  and  its  minerals,  including  coal,  gold, 
iron,  tin,  valuable  stone,  and  a  variety  of  clays.  The  streams 
were  swarming  with  speckled  trout,  and  the  forests  with  game. 
These  rumors  still  further  stimulated  pubiia  curiosity  and  inter- 
est. I  met  at  Gray's  Harbor  the  first  ladies  to  undertake  a 
journey  into  the  Olympics, — Mrs.  John  Soulo  and  Mrs.  John  G. 
McMillan, — who,  with  their  husbands,  went  up  the  const  by  a 
trail  as  far  as  the  government  warehouse  at  Owyhut,  and  thonce 
to  the  Quinault  Reservation  along  the  beach,  crossing  the  rivers 
at  their  mouths,  where  they  were  most  shallow.  On  the  Che- 
palis  one  settler  was  found  who  had  lived  there  for  nine  j'cars. 
At  the  reservation  they  were  entertained  by  the  (iamily  of  the 
agent.  Captain  Willoughby,  who,  with  Mrs.  Willoughby,  related 
to  them  many  Indian  legends.  But  in  these  legends  I  see  little 
to  admire;  they  are  exceedingly  puerile  and  pointless,  and  not 
worth  preserving. 

From  the  reservation  the  party  ascended  the  Quinault  Kiver 
by  canoe  having  Indian  boatmen.  The  time  occupied  in  getting 
to  the  lake  of  that  name,  a  distance  of  forty  miles,  was  three 
days,  many  portages  around  "jams"  having  to  be  made.  At 
their  first  camp,  made  at  an  Indian  rancherie,  there  was  sot  up 
before  the  house  of  the  chief  a  figure-head  of  a  wrecked  vessel 
as  a  totem.  At  the  lake  they  found  strawberries — time,  last  of 
May,  1888 — on  the  banks,  and  delicious  trout  in  the  waters. 
The  valley  of  the  lake  was  described  to  mo  as  romantically 
beautiful.  They  found  the  lake  to  be  of  an  oval  shape,  lying 
northeast  by  southwest,  and  about  five  by  two  and  a  half  miles 
in  extent,  with  a  depth  of  from  seventy  to  two  hundred  and 
twenty  feet.  The  theory  of  its  formation  held  by  this  party 
was  that  an  avalanche  had  dammed  the  waters  of  the  Quinault, 
which  finally  found  their  outlet  by  a  depression  to  the  south- 
west, through  which  they  cut  a  channel  toward  the  sea.  The 
mountains  on  the  sea-side  are  steep,  and  a  ridge  runs  along  tho 
north,  but  the  valley  lies  on  the  east  side.  If  the  theory  of  an 
avalanche  were  true,  tho  story  of  the  Indians'  happy  valley  of 
long  ago  might  have  a  shadow  of  foundation. 

Having  heard  on  the  reservation  that  by  going  up  the  river 
beyond  the  lake,  which  could  be  done  by  the  help  of  Indians,  a 


OLYMPIC  GOSSIP. 


269 


walk  of  seven  miles  from  the  bead  of  caual  navigation  would 
bring  them  to  the  head  of  a  river  flowing  into  Hood's  Canal, 
the  party  determined  to  win  fame  by  crossing  the  Olympics  by 
this  I'oute.  It  turned  out,  however,  that  the  current  of  the 
upper  river  was  too  rapid  to  admit  of  being  navigated,  at  least 
by  its  present  mouth,  and  the  old  mouth  into  the  lake  half  a 
mile  to  the  south  was  found  to  be  dammed  by  drifts.  Small, 
delicious  salmon  were  found  in  the  lake,  and  the  party  remained 
for  several  days  enjoying  the  mountains,  the  lake,  the  splendid 
forest,  salmon,  strawberries,  and  freedom.  This  visit  to  the 
Olympics  was  the  occasion  of  the  formation  of  Lake  City  Town 
Company,  which  proceeded  to  plot  six  hundred  and  forty  acres 
on  the  south  shore  of  the  lake,  where  a  summer-resort  might 
very  appropriately  be  located.  It  was  even  said  that  a  railroad 
from  the  Strait  to  Gmy's  Harbor  would  be  constructed  at  an 
eaily  day,  which  would  bring  Lake  City  within  an  hour  and  a 
half  of  tiie  Harbor, — namel}-,  the  Port  Townscnd  and  Quillayute. 
Quinault  City,  at  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Hamptulips 
River,  was  also  projected  about  this  time,  "  on  a  beautiful  eleva- 
tion, with  half  a  mile  of  river  front  and  a  mill-site."  So  easy 
is  it  to  project  enterprises  and  to  dream  of  future  fulfilment  in 
this  wilderness ! 

I  also  met  at  Hoquiam  Ex-Lieutenant-Governor  Oilman,  of 
Minnesota,  and  his  on,  S.  C.  Gilman,  who  had  passed  a  winter 
in  quietly  exploring  the  Olympics.  They  found  three  hundred 
and  fifty  square  miles  of  rich  bottom-land  along  the  streams, 
and  described  the  soil  between  the  mountains  and  the  ocean  as 
well  adapted  whe.i  cleared  to  grazing,  fruit-raising,  or  general 
farming.  There  were  few  prairies,  and  those  small  ones,  but  they 
found  float-coal,  croppings  of  iron,  and  quartz  containing  gold, 
silver,  copper,  and  tin.  They  entered  the  mountains  from  the 
south  and  experienced  little  difBculty,  while,  by  report,  those 
who  attempted  to  enter  from  the  north  or  east  were  met  by 
many  and  severe  obstacles.  That  this  is  true  is  confirmed  by 
the  report  of  an  exploration  conducted  under  the  auspices  of 
the  arm}-,  as  well  as  by  the  failure  of  several  parties  from  the 
Sound  to  eflfect  a  crossing  from  the  east  side.  The  Gilmans  en- 
countered dangers  and  performed  feats  of  daring  which  to  an 
ordinary  tourist  like  myself  seemed  extraordinary,  but  which 


I  Hi 
'111 


'  I. 


it  ■■'\     i 

I 


i 


270 


ATLANTIS    ARISEN. 


were  as  coldl}' recited  aw  if  it  had  boen  a  usunl  tiling  to  climb 
perpendicular  wuIIh,  clinging  like  limpet  to  its  rock,  or  to 
promenade  on  a  shelf  six  inches  wide  above  a  frightful  abyss. 

There  was  alno  another  party  which  wintered  in  the  Olympics 
and  had  not  yet  come  out  when  I  was  at  Iloquiam.  This  was 
an  expedition  organized  by  the  Seattle  Press,  consisting  of  five 
men  and  an  Indian  guide,  who  deserted  when  he  discovered  the 
purpose  of  the  explorerr*  to  penetrate  to  the  interior  of  the 
peninsula.  They  started  from  Port  Angeles,  on  the  north, 
with  mules,  boats,  provisions,  and  a  thorough  outfit,  proceed- 
ing up  the  Elwha  Rivei.  To  recount  their  experiences  would 
i-equire  more  space  than  can  be  allowed  to  it  in  this  volume. 
They  were  in  the  mountains  from  December  7  to  May  21,  and 
came  out  at  Aberdeen  in  a  disreputable  plight,  plus  hair  and 
beard,  but  minus  those  articles  of  clothing  considered  indis- 
pensable to  pi'opriety.  Their  report  concerning  the  nature 
of  the  country  and  the  minerals  to  bo  found  in  it  agreed  with 
that  of  the  Gilmans,  and  they  made  many  additions  to  the  map 
of  the  country,  naming  peaks  and  lakes  which  hitherto  had  not 
been  observed  or  named.  Lake  Crescent  and  Lake  Sutherland 
are  both  near  the  Elwha  River.  Mount  Brown  is  in  that  vicin- 
ity. Mount  Seattle  near  the  head  of  the  Quinault  River,  while 
Mount  Ferry,  named  after  the  first  governor  of  the  State,  Mount 
Childs,  Barnes,  and  Grady  are  elevations  no  longer  without  a 
"  local  habitation  and  a  name." 

Following  the  return  of  the  Press  expedition  were  half  a  dozen 
lesser  efforts  to  learn  the  character  of  the  Olymj^ic  Peninsula  in 
uU  its  parts,  most  of  these  being  directed  to  the  discovery  of 
minerals,  and  all  bringing  in  some  specimens.  A  copper-mine 
discovered  in  Kitsap  County  east  of  and  at  the  foot  of  the 
Olympic  Range  seemed  to  confirm  the  existence  of  copper 
higher  up. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  Peninsula  as  unknown  and  unexplored. 
But  it  would  ill  become  me  to  pass  over  other  attempts  made 
at  a  comparatively  recent  date  to  unveil  the  Olympian  myster}-. 
In  1881-82  Colonel  Chambers,  commanding  at  Fort  Townsend, 
endeavored  to  construct  a  road  from  the  fort  into  the  mountains, 
the  result  of  six  months  of  toil  being  a  trail  to  and  fvcroc^  I  oth 
branches  of  the  Dungeness  River,  which  was  then  absHioned 


4  V' 
(» If 


f'l  ii 


OLYMPIC  GOSSIP. 


271 


ns  impracticable,  from  the  density  of  the  forest  and  under- 
Itrusli,  and  the  equally  groat  obstacles  of  windfalls,  cations, 
and  precipices. 

In  1885,  Lieutenant  J  P.  O'Neil.  being  stationed  at  Fort 
Vani.()uver,  was  detailed  by  General  Miles  to  make  a  roconnois- 
sance  of  the  *'  Jupiter  Hills,"  and  entered  upon  this  duty  with 
enthusiasm.  After  a  month  of  r"*'er  perilous  adventures  in  its 
e.xocution,  and  losing  one  man,  wh  >  rayed  from  the  trail  and 
perished,  O'Neil  was  ordered  to  Foi  ^  Leavenworth,  and  the  ex- 
pedition returned  to  Vancou .  ;r.  ^'oncoming  hie  part  in  it 
O'Neil  remarked  that  "the  tiavel  was  difflcult,  but  the  adven- 
tures, the  beauty  of  the  scenery,  tlio  magnificent  hunting  and 
fishing,  amply  repaid  all  hardships,  and  it  was  with  regret  that  I 
left  them  before  I  had  completed  the  work."  lie  also  said,  '•  There 
must  be  groat  mineml  wealth  here,  for  gold  has  been  found  in 
the  foot-hills,  as  has  also  coal.  There  are  now  two  chums  which 
have  first  class  coal  located  near  Hood's  Canal.  Iron  ore  is  in 
some  places  most  abundant  and  very  pure.  I  also  carried  a 
specimen  out  which  was  pronounced  by  a  learned  man  to  be 
copper.  The  formation  of  those  mountains  seoms  to  speak 
jtlainly  of  mineral  wealth.  .  .  .  The  day  will  come  when  the 
State  of  Washington  will  glory  in  their  wealth  and  beauty." 

In  the  month  of  July,  1890,  General  Gibbons  sent  out  an  ex 
pcdition  to  make  a  thorough  exploration  of  the  Olympic  Eange, 
and  again  Lieutenant  O'Neil  was  placed  in  command.  Accom- 
panying it  were  members  of  the  Portland  and  the  Washington 
Alpine  clubs,  and  the  expedition,  which  consisted  of  fifteen  rank 
and  file,  started  early  in  July  from  Union  City,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Skokomish  River,  on  Hood's  Canal.  They  carried  a  box 
similar  to  those  placed  on  the  tops  of  the  Oregon  snow-peaks, 
containing  a  record  book,  to  be  deposited  on  the  highest  peak 
of  the  Olympics,  the  summit  of  Mount  Olympus. 

The  trail  lay  by  Lake  Cushman,  which  is  described  as  a  para- 
dise for  anglers.  Nestled  among  the  foot-hills  at  an  elevation 
of  four  hundred  feet,  it  reflects  in  its  placid  bosom  the  overhang- 
ing crags  and  snow-peaks.  The  Skokomish  River  runs  into  and 
out  of  it,  as  the  Quinault  does  on  the  other  side  of  its  lake.  A 
trail  led  to  some  copj^er  deposits  several  miles  from  the  river,  and 
from  that  point  the  only  roads  open  to  the  explorers  were  the 


272 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


H^: 


elk-trails.  In  short,  they  had  the  sirne  experience  that  all  pre- 
vious  explorers  had  met  with,  travelling  over  "  a  succession  of 
fine  bottoms  and  precipitous  mountain-sides,  which  in  places 
approach  the  grandeur  of  a  cafion,  until  they  arrived  at  a  real 
and  impassable  caRon  where  the  stream  rushed  out  between 
rocky  walls  one  hundred  feet  in  height."  This  experience  was 
repeated  on  an  ever-increasing  scale  of  grandeur,  the  incidents 
of  which  the  reader  would  find  it  wearisome  to  follow,  until  the 
summit  of  the  range  was  attained,  and  the  party  descended  the 
Quinault  to  the  coast,  and  finally  to  Graj-'s  Harbor,  where  they 
were  welcomed  with  enthusiasm.  I  had  the  pleasure  afterwards 
of  hearing  Lieutenant  O'Neil  deliver  a  lecture  descriptive  of  his 
expedition,  at  the  close  of  which  he  made  the  interesting  state- 
ment that  Mount  Olympus  has  forty  glaciers,  and  the  surprising 
one  that  the  Olympic  Penin&'ila  was  good  for  nothing  but  a 
National  Park.  Whether  the  people  of  Washington  will  agree 
with  him  I  know  not,  but  I  think  it  will  take  the  strong  arm  of 
the  government  to  keep  them  from  the  timber,  minerals,  and  fi.sh 
which  it  contains.  -i;  ,  , 

The  last  explorer  of  note  who  proposed  to  make  the  acquaint- 
ance of  the  Olympics  is  Lord  Lonsdale,  who  was  going  to  take 
the  route  via  Port  Townsend,  when  Mr.  J.  T.  Duncan,  of  Gray's 
Harbor,  met  him  at  that  place  to  persuade  him  to  take  the  safer 
and  easier  route  from  the  south.  It  cannot  be  said  hereafter 
that  the  Olympics  are  terra  incognita,  but  only  that  they  are,  for 
the  most  part,  an  inhospitable  country  which,  having  once  seen, 
few  would  care  to  see  again  except  at  a  distance,  and  at  a  dis- 
tance they  are  the  most  beautiful  of  all  the  ranges  in  the  North- 
west,— a  joy  forever  to  the  resident  on  either  side  of  the  Strait 
or  the  Sound. 

As  a  country  in  which  to  hunt  game  there  is  nothing  more 
formidable  than  black  bear,  wolves,  deer,  and  elk,  the  latter  of 
which  are  numerous  and  not  at  all  shy. 


SHOALWATEU    BAY  OB    WILLAPA   HARBOR? 


273 


CHAiPTBR   XXll. 

SHOALWATER   BAY   OR   WILLAPA   HARBOR? 


While  I  was  at  Hoquiam  I  discovered  that  there  was  au 
appearance  of  rivalry  between  the  population  of  Gray's  Harbor 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  region  about  Shoalwater  Bay,  fifteen 
miles  south  of  that  place.  I  was  myself  conscious  of  a  pvejii-^ 
dice  against  this  baj-  on  account  of  its  name,  although  its  his- 
tory for  the  last  hundred  years  did  not  justify  the  feeling.  In 
fact,  I  think  a  part  of  my  aversion  to  this  harbor  was  that  it  did 
not  furnish  a  reason  for  this  want  of  confidence',  by  wrecking 
some  vessel,  thus  showing  its  true  character  as  indicated  by  its 
name, — for  shams  of  any  kind  are  hateful  to  me. 

Called  to  question  my  authorities  on  this  subject,  I  could  not 
learn  that  this  bay  had  ever  betrayed  its  trust,  but,  on  tie 
contrary,  a  number  of  vessels  which  had  been  unable  to  got 
into  the  Columbia  River,  in  former  time-*,  had  found  shelter  and 
safiety  in  Shoalwater  Baj-.  The  history  of  the  harbor  since  the 
settlement  of  the  countrj-  is  about  this  :  A  vessel  or  two  in  1849, 
having  blundered  into  this  port  in  looking  for  the  Columbia  in 
heavy  weather,  drew  attention  to  the  harbor  and  surrounding 
country.  In  1850,  C.  J.  W.  Russell  settled  on  the  bay.  and,  find- 
ing the  extensive  shoals  a  natural  oj-ster-bed,  opened  a  trade  in 
oysters  with  San  Francisco.  In  1851  the  schooners  "Sea-Ser- 
pent" and  "  Robert  Bruce"  were  regularly  employed  in  supply- 
ing the  Cahfornia  market.  The  "Bruce"  was  unfortunately 
burned  at  her  landing,  which  place  was  called  Bruceport.  as  her 
owners  were  named  the  Bruce  Company;  hence,  Bruceport  is 
the  oldest  settlement  on  the  bay.  Another  company  were  at  the 
'^ame  time  cutting  a  cargo  of  piles  for  the  San  Francisco  market 
from  the  grand  forests  around  the  port,  and  in  1852  a  number 
of  immigrants  settled  on  the  streams  emptying  into  it.  A  party 
had  already  projected  the  laying  out  of  a  town  on  the  bay, 
when  their  leader  died.  The  first  saw-mill  was  ei'ectcd  in 
1852-53,  near  the  mouth  of  North  River,  by  David  K.  Weldon, 
one  of  this  compn,ny. 

18 


274 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


\i 


V  jjl 


In  1853-54  there  were  two  hundred  men  on  Shoalwater  Bay 
and  its  estuaries  who  lived  by  oysiering,  and  these  natural  beds 
furnished  all  the  fresh  oysters  consumed  on  the  coast  until  1859, 
when  planting  was  begun.  An  unusual  frost  in  1861-62  de- 
stroyed nearly  all  the  oysters  in  the  bay ;  but  in  1874  one 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  baskets  were  shipped  from  here. 
The  oystermen  of  Shoalwater  Bay  and  Puget  Sound  inlets  have 
to  contend  with  the  imported  eastern  moUusk  since  the  open- 
ing of  transcontinental  railroads,  but  the  small  native  oyster 
remains  a  favorite  for  its  delicacj'  of  flavor. 

From  what  I  have  said  it  will  appear  that  this  part  of  the 
Washington  coast,  although  deserving  well  of  the  outside  world, 
received  little  attention  from  it  for  many  years,  the  rich  valley 
surrounding  it  being  sparsely  settled,  and  even  the  Vt^ealth  of 
its  forests  remaining  almost  untouched. 

The  entrance  to  Shoalwater  Bay  is  thirty-five  miles  north  of 
the  Columbia  Eiver  entrance,  although  its  south  end  reaches  to 
within  four  miles  of  that  great  river.  This  thirty  miles  of 
water— actually  shoal — south  of  the  entrance  is  what  gives  the 
bay  its  name,  and  it  is  separated  from  the  ocean  by  a  long  spit 
of  an  average  width  of  two  miles.  Inside  the  bay  are  no  mud- 
flats such  as  ai'e  seen  in  Gray's  Harbor,  but  the  channel  is  more 
tortuous. 

The  north  headland  of  the  bay,  called  Toke  Point,  after  a 
Chinook  chief  who  had  his  home  here,  is  a  jutting  headland 
reaching  out  into  the  harbor  for  a  distance  of  seven  miles  in  a 
curving  neck  which  protects  a  small  bay  called  North  Cove. 
From  this  cove  the  harbor  extends  eight  miles  east  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Willapa  (pronounced  with  a  broad  a,  and  accent  on  the 
second  syllable)  and  up  this  estuary  for  some  distance  to  a  point 
twenty  miles  inside  the  bar.  The  mean  dei)th  of  water  on  the 
bar  is  said  to  be  over  twenty-six  feet,  while. inside  and  all  the 
way  to  the  head  of  deep  water  in  the  Willapa  the  channel 
carries  from  thirty-five  to  sixty  feet.  The  harbor  is  perfectly 
landlocked  and  safe  from  the  sou' westers  which  blow  in  the 
winter  months. 

Twenty  miles  from  the  ocean,  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
Willapa  River,  and  throe  miles  from  its  mouth,  is  the  town  of 
South  Bend,  first  settled  in  1881,  and  having  an  active  growth, 


SHOALWATEK   BAY  OR   WILLAPA   HARBOR? 


275 


backed  by  a  rich  furming  country  forty  miles  long  by  three 
miles  in  breadth,  and  a  g-reat  body  of  fine  timber.  A  large  saw- 
mill, in  addition  to  the  one  already  there,  will  be  put  in  opera- 
tion soon,  together  with  other  mills  and  business  enterprises. 

South  Bend  is  but  forty  miles  west  of  the  main  line  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  (Portland  Branch),  at  Chehalis  City,  and  the 
difference  in  the  elevation  of  the  two  places  is  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet.  This  makes  railroad  construction  easy,  and  in  fact  a 
branch  to  South  Bend  is  already  being  built  by  the  N.  P.  com- 
pany which  will  be  completed  early  in  1891,  or  about  as  soon  as 
their  line  to  Ocosta  is  opened,  under  the  name  of  Yakima  and 
Pacific  Coast  Railroad.  This  will  be  a  boon  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Willapa  Valley,  v^ho  have  hitherto  been  comoelled  to 
depend  upon  a  chance  vessel,  or  a  small  propeller  fro  n  Hoquiam 
to  a  landing  on  the  south  spit,  whence  a  beach-wagon  conveyed 
passengers  to  North  Cove — a  very  boisterous  route  in  rough 
weather.  Or  if  communication  with  the  Columbia  River  was 
sought,  again  a  chance  vessel  or  tug  carried  travellers  out  to 
sea  and  across  the  bar  of  the  Columbia;  or  more  recently  to 
Sealand  on  the  beacli  near  Baker's  Bay,  whence  a  local  railroad 
completes  the  journey  to  the  Columl)ia  via  the  sea-side  resorts 
described  in  a  former  chapter.  When  the  Chehalis  road  is 
finished  one  can  come  from  Portland  or  Tacoma  in  four  or  five 
hours  b}'  rail.  Whereas  South  Bend  was  a  hamlet  of  perhaps 
twenty  houses  until  this  prospect  opened  up  a  future,  it  is  now 
an  incorporated  city  which  is  spending  large  sums  in  street 
improvements,  hoteb,  and  business  houses.  A  newspaper,  the 
South  Bend  Enterprise,  reyjresents  the  interests  of  the  town  and 
Willapa  Valley.  Like  Aberdeen,  the  principal  streets  of  South 
Bend  are  built  upon  piling  to  raise  them  out  of  the  reach  of 
the  tides. 

On  the  north  bank  of  the  Willapa  River,  at  its  confluence 
with  the  harbor,  on  a  level  and  open  tract  of  land  containing 
about  three  square  miles,  another  town  has  been  laid  out,  with 
broad  avenues  fronting  on  deep  water,  called  North  Pacific  Ciiy. 
It  has  not  yot  received  mpch  attention  or  been  advertised  after 
the  manner  of  new  cities,  from  which  I  draw  the  inference  that 
the  railroad  powers  are  holding  it  until  they  are  prepared  to 
give  it  a  good  send-off.    If  I  were  the  son  of  a  prophet  I  should 


276 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


say  that  it  is  the  intention  of  the  powei*s  just  referred  to,  not 
onl}-  to  bring  the  Yakima  and  Pacific  Coast  Railroad  here,  but 
also  to  extend  their  Gray's  Harbor  line  down  to  the  same  place. 
So  the  strife  for  ascendency  between  the  Gray's  Harbor  and 
Shoal  water  Bay  towns  is  not  without  foundation  in  reason. 

Within  a  distance  of  fifty  miles  on  the  co<a8t  are  three  com- 
peting points,  Astoria,  and  the  leading  city,  whichever  that  may 
prove  to  be,  on  each  of  the  two  harbors  north  of  the  Columbia. 
It  must  be  a  surprise  to  the  merchants  in  the  interior,  who  have 
always  controlled  the  commerce  of  these  tw^o  States,  to  discover 
at  this  late  day  that  trade-centres  are  not  permanent,  but  locate 
themselves  according  to  natural  advantages  which  are  fixed, 
other  things  being  equal.  The  whole  of  West  Washington  is 
80  rich  in  resources  that  it  now  depends  upon  the  capacity  of 
any  considerable  poi  ion  of  it  to  sustain  a  more  dense  popula- 
tion to  give  superior  power  to  a  particular  city,  although  for  a 
time  it  may  serve  as  a  distributing  point  to  a  wide  ai'ea  of  only 
partially  occupied  territory. 

Within  a  short  distance  of  Shoalwater  Bay  is  a  range  of  bills 
in  which  rises  the  Nasel  River,  a  wild  stream  which  in  twenty 
miles  accompli.shes  a  good  deal  of  that  kind  of  motion  which 
the  water  does  that  "  comes  down  at  Ladore."  It  is  a  favorite 
region  with  hunters  from  the  seaside  resorts  south  of  the  bay, 
the  game  being  the  same  as  that  found  in  the  Olympics,  and 
more  easily  reached. 

One  of  the  attractions  of  Shoalwater  Bay  is  the  life-saving 
station  on  North  Cove.  The  crew  is  composed  of  a  captain  and 
six  men,  who  not  only  thoroughlj^  understand  their  work,  but 
are  kept  in  training  by  dril!.  There  is  no  hour  of  the  day  or 
night  when  the  guard  is  broken,  each  man  being  on  watch  four 
hours  of  the  twenty-four.  When  a  wreck  is  discovered  the 
patrol  burns  a  signal  which  by  percussion  emits  a  red  light 
that  is  visible  a  long  distance,  and  then  gives  his  warning  to 
the  ei'ew  in  the  boat-house  by  firing  a  small  cannon  kept  ready 
at  the  light-iiouse  on  the  point. 

At  the  sound  of  the  cannon  the  men  spring  to  their  places, 
and  the  captain,  trumpet  in  hand,  takes  command.  Only  last 
December  the  "  Grace  Roberts,"  a  large  bark  from  San  Fran- 
cisco, was  driven  ashore  fifteen  miles  south  of  the  station,  one 


SHOAUVATER   BAY   OR   WILLAPA    HARBOR? 


277 


fiercely  tompestuous  day  just  at  nightfall,  and  was  not  seen 
until  morning,  when  the  guard's  keen  vision  espied  it  through 
the  mist,  and  for  an  instant  only.  The  crew  was  at  once  put  in 
marching  order,  but,  the  distance  being  too  great  for  rapid  com- 
munication, the  captain  secured  the  use  of  a  tug  in  the  bay  to 
convey  the  life-saving  apparatus  to  a  point  opposite  the  wreck, 
and  distant  four  miles,  the  life-boat  being  lowed  through  a 
tumultuous  sea  with  the  crew  in  their  places.  On  disembark- 
ing, horses  were  hired,  which  dragged  the  beach-wagon  and 
apparatus  on  a  run  across  the  sand  spit  to  the  beach  where  lay 
the  "  Grace  Eoberts,"  about  four  hundred  yards  from  shore, 
broadside  on,  and  full  of  water,  her  bulwarks  and  housing 
washed  away,  and  the  crew  lashed  in  the  rigging,  while  the 
spray  from  every  inrolling  wave  was  drenching  and  benumbing 
them.  In  two  hours  from  the  time  the  wreck  was  discovered  a 
line  had  been  shot  on  board,  but  so  exhausted  were  the  sailors 
that  it  was  with  difficulty  they  succeeded  in  hauling  a  hawser 
on  board,  by  means  of  which  and  the  life-buoy  attached  to  it 
nine  lives  were  saved.  Just  as  the  last  man— the  captain — was 
lifted,  half  frozen,  out  of  the  car,  up  came  the  crew  from  the 
life-saving  station  I  have  before  mentioned,  at  Capo  Disappoint- 
ment, having  made  a  run  of  twenty  miles,  hauling  their  beach- 
wagon  by  means  of  horses.  These  incidents  show  great  effi- 
ciency in  the  service  at  these  two  stations.  Captain  John 
Brown,  of  Toke  Point,  lost,  in  rescuing  a  crew,  a  son  who  had 
already  won  a  medal  by  saving  lives.  It  is  certainly  the  severest 
service  and  the  most  humane  of  our  public  beneficent  institu- 
tions, as  well  as  one  of  the  least  rewarded. 

To  return  to  the  nomenclature  of  this  region, — it  has  been 
decided  by  the  residents  that  Shoalwater  Bay  is  a  misnomer, 
and,  the  government  being  of  the  same  opinion,  the  name  has 
recently  been  changed  on  the  government  charts  to  Willapa 
Harbor,  by  which  appellation  it  will  hereafter  appear  on  the 
map  of  Washington. 


■r 


.  s :: 

i 

I 


M 


i!  ^     i  MS 


i  ^4^ 


'I 


278 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 


THE   CITY  OF   DESTINY. 


Eeturnino  over  the  route  by  which  we  came  to  Kamilche 
and  Olympia,  only  touching  at  the  capital  long  enough  to  take 
on  passengera  for  down  the  Sound,  we  find  the  same  fair  picture 
of  blue  water,  wooded  headlands,  distant  mountains,  und  sum- 
mer skies  which  we  enjoyed  on  the  previous  trip.  Steilacoom 
is  the  first  place  of  any  importance  we  come  to,  and  is  really  in 
a  beautiful  location  on  a  high  gravelly  prairie,  diversified  wiih 
groves  of  fine  timber,  gemmed  here  and  there  with  small  clear 
lakes  bordered  by  deciduous  trees.  It  is  said  there  is  no  finer 
view  of  the  Cascade  snow-peaks,  from  Eainier  to  Hood,  than  ia 
to  be  seen  here,  while  the  Olympics  are  also  in  full  view  across 
the  Sound. 

The  harbor  at  Steilacoom  is  good,  and  there  is  plenty  of  water- 
power  in  Steilacoom  Creek  which  comes  in  at  this  place,  some 
of  which  is  already  utilized  for  milling  purposes,  the  head  of 
the  creek  being  in  a  lake  four  miles  distant  and  two  hundred 
feet  iiigher.  About  a  mile  east  of  the  harbor  is  the  site  of 
old  Fort  Steilacoom,  the  buildings  of  which  were  turned  over 
to  the  Territory  for  an  insane  hospital.  The  territr  iul  peni- 
tentiary on  McNeil  Island,  opposite  Steilacoom,  is  a  fine  build- 
ing, and  standing  so  prominently  on  these  lonely  shores  re- 
minds one  of  Hawthorne :  "  The  founders  of  a  new  colony, 
whatever  Utopia  of  virtue  and  happiness  they  might  originally 
project,  have  invariably  recognized  it  among  their  earliest  prac- 
tical necessities,  to  allot  a  portion  of  the  virgin  soil  as  a  ceme- 
tery, and  another  as  a  site  for  a  ^jrison." 

Steilacoom  has  long  b6en  a  quiet  and  dull  town  of  a  few  hun- 
dred inhabitants, — for  it  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  Washington, 
having  been  founde(^  in  1850  by  Lafayette  Balch,  who  owned  a 
brig  and  brought  a  cargo  of  goods  to  this  port,  where  he  built 
a  house  and  laid  out  a  town.  '^,ince  the  admission  of  the  State, 
and  even  before,  Steilacoo'  nad  started  on  a  new  career  of 
progress,  and,  being  now  connected  with  Tacoma,  Olympia,  and 


V   A 


THE   CITY   OF   DESTINY. 


279 


other  poiuts  by  rail,  is  becoming  a  popular  resort,  owing  to  its 
fine  situation  and  the  delightful  diives  in  its  vicinity. 

About  five  miles  below  Steilacoom  the  steamer  enters  '■  The 
Narrows,"  a  passage  six  miles  long  and  one  mile  wide,  through 
which  the  water  runs  with  great  force  at  the  ebb  and  flow  of 
the  tide.  This  strait  is  the  only  passage  between  Puget  Sound 
proper  and  Admiralty  Inlet.  Along  it  the  government  has 
several  reservations  for  defensive  or  other  purposes.  The 
steamer  route  down  the  Sound  is  another  narrow  water-way 
directly  north  of  the  Narrows,  named  by  Vancouver  Colvo's 
Passage ;  but  to  reach  Tacoma  we  turn  Point  Defiance  on  our 
right,  leaving  Gig  Harbor  on  our  left,  and  take  a  southeast 
course  into  Commencement  Bay,  at  the  south  end  of  Admiralty 
Inlet,  which  is  separated  from  Colvo's  Passage  by  Vashon  Isl- 
and for  about  twelve  miles.  The  bay  is  five  or  six  miles  long 
by  about  two  and  a  half  wide,  and  is  well  protected  by  Vashon 
Island.  We  steam  along  past  old  Tacoma,  a  milling  town,  and, 
finding  some  friends,  are  curried  off  to  make  acquaintance  with 
the  City  of  Destiny  at  our  leisure. 

To  begin  at  the  beginning,  the  old  town  of  Tacoma  was 
founded  by  Morton  M.  McCarver,  a  Kentuckian,  an  immigrant 
of  1843  to  Oregon,  from  Iowa,  where  he  laid  out  the  town  of  Bur- 
lington, but,  being  of  a  restless  and  adventurous  turn  of  mind, 
migrated  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  whore  he  figured  in  Oregon,  and 
afterwards  in  California,  legislation.  In  1868  he  went  to  Puget 
Sound  with  the  intention  of  locating,  in  his  own  opinion,  the 
terminus  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Eailroad.  He  made  a  good 
guess,  as  it  subsequently  proved.  The  land  which  he,  with  two 
associates,  purchased  belonged  to  Job  Carr.  Here  he  erected  a 
residence,  and  induced  Hanson  and  Ackerson  to  locate  a  saw- 
mill on  the  point  where  the  old  town  stands.  When  the  rail- 
road company  in  1873  came  looking  for  their  terminus,  he  was 
not  in  their  way;  he  gave  them  two  hundred  or  three  hundred 
acres,  and  helped  them  to  acquire  several  thousand  more.  But 
they  put  their  terminus  where  Tacoma  City  now  stands,  and  he 
died  two  years  later.  If  he  could  have  lived  until  now  the  dis- 
appointment would  have  been  softened  to  him,  for  the  old  and 
new  towns  are  practically  one. 

I  find  a  good  deal  said  about  the  name  Tacoma,  which  is 


V        f 


280 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


variously  spelled  with  a  A  in  j)lace  of  the  c,  or  witli  an  h  at  the 
end.  It  is  generally  believed  to  be  an  Indian  word.  The  first 
time  it  appears  in  literature  is  in  Theodore  Winthrop's  "Canoe 
and  Sadille,"  where  he  professes  to  have  been  told  that  the  In- 
dian name  of  Mount  Rainier  was  Tucoma;  but  the  word  is  not 
found  in  the  Indian  tongue,  and  probably,  as  in  the  case  of 
Jonathan  Carver  with  the  word  "  Origan,"  he  partly  misunder- 
stood and  partly  invented.  It  is  a  very  good  word,  however, 
with  as  much  right  to  bo  as  other  arbitrary  names,  and  was 
chosen,  I  have  been  told,  by  Mr.  Ackerson  as  the  name  of 
McCarvcr's  town,  and  the  railroad  people,  with  very  good  taste, 
everything  considered,  called  their  town  the  same,  and  soon 
there  will  be  no  difference  between  the  old  and  the  new. 

The  first  thing  that  struck  me  about  Tacoma  was  its  appear- 
anf  e  of  not  being  an  accidental  town.  It  was  evidently  de- 
signed. No  one  could  stand  on  these  sloping  heights  and  ob- 
serve the  scono  carefully  without  seeing  its  intention.  The 
natural  features  are  quickly  enumerated.  The  elevated  plateau 
on  which  the  city  is  built,  the  mouth  of  the  rich  Puj'allup  Val- 
\ey,  jiroducing  enormously  in  coal  as  well  as  in  lumber  and  agri- 
cultural products,  with  tide  lands  worth  millions  lying  just  on 
the  right  of  the  citj'  front,  with  the  Narrows  on  the  west  where 
there  could  bo  no  other  town,  and  a  country  back  of  it  suited  to 
the  eye  and  to  homebuilding  rather  than  to  farming,  while  the 
whole  great  inland  sea  opens  its  water-ways  ahout  it,  all  plainly 
say,  "  Here  was  destined  to  be  a  great  commercial  metropolis." 

These  were  the  natural  gifts  to  the  City  of  Destiny.  But 
look  how  men  have  (aken  advantage  of  them.  Look  at  the 
harbor,  the  railways,  the  Sound  and  ocean  docks,  coal  bunkers, 
wheat-elovators,  mills,  dry -dock,  canneries,  shingle-mills,  brick- 
yards, Ryan  Smelter,  and  Great  Pacific  Mills  along  the  front, 
and  the  St.  Paul  and  Tacoma  Lumber  Company's  milling  plant 
and  factor}'.  Commencement  Bay  Improvement  Company's 
ocean  docks,  warehouses,  and  manufacturing  centre,  and  other 
large  mills  being  erected  at  the  east  end  of  the  bay.  These 
things  did  not  come  there  like  the  accretions  on  an  oyster-shell : 
they  were  put  there  by  design  of  men  of  brain  and  foresight, 
and  the  end  has  justifie'd  the  beginning. 

The  Puyallup  Indian  Reservation  comes  down  to  Commence- 


u*     1 


THE   CITY   OF   DESTINY 


281 


ment  Bay,  but  already  there  is  an  East  Tacoina  laid  out  on  it, 
fiontin;^  the  harbor,  and  the  East  Tacoina  Land  Company's 


MAP 

OF 

TACOMA. 

1.  Sound  and  ocean  docks. 

10.  Pacific  Mills. 

2.  Coal-bunkers. 

11.  St.  Paul  and  Tacoma  l;umber  Com- 

8. Wheat-elevators. 

pany's  milling  plant. 

4.  Tacoma  mills. 

12.  Wheeler  &  Osgood's  sash  and  door  fac- 

5. Steamship  dry-dock. 

tory. 

6.  Fish-canneries. 

18.  Commencement    Bay  Improvement 

7.  Shingle-mills. 

Company's  ocean  docks,  warehous- 

8. Brick-yards. 

ing  and  manufacturing  centre. 

9.  Ryan  smelter. 

14.  Site  of  Hart  Brothers'  mills. 

15.  Original 

plat 

of  East  Tacoma. 

water  front  and  site  of  proposed  improvements,  facing  Ad- 
miralty Inlet,  is  the  jwojected  seat  of  the  terminal  improve- 
ments of  the  Union  Pacific  Eailroad  when  it  shall  need  them. 


282 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


p:  ■  rlijaiiJ 


.It 


if 

4 

If 


Directly  north  of  the  city  is  North  Tacoma,  on  Maury's  Island, 
which  is  not  quite  un  island  altiiough  it  bears  tliat  name,  an 
inlet  called  Quartermaster  Bay  running  across  the  southeast 
portion  of  Vashon  Island,  and  nearly  cutting  off  this  insular 
ft'agment.  I  am  not  at  present  able  to  see  why  North  Tacoma 
exists,  but  have  no  doubt  the  projector  of  this  town  has  an 
object  in  view. 

The  evident  intent  visible  along  the  water-front  is  equally 
recognizable  in  the  plan  of  the  city,  with  its  wide  avenues, 
handsome  business  houses,  tasteful  dwellings,  and  excellent 
street-railway  service.  Nothing  has  been  left  to  chance,  but  as 
one  takes  in  the  whole  view  its  design  is  as  conspicuous  as  the 
city  itself,  which  being  set  on  a  hill  cannot  be  hid.  At  the  head 
of  the  bay  the  slope  of  the  ground  is  suoli  as  to  offer  facilities 
for  railroad,  manufacturing,  and  other  business  improvements, 
and  there  we  find  them.  Further  along  towards  the  west  and 
under  the  high  bluff  are  the  wharves,  to  which  ships  can  sail. 

The  authors  of  the  design  of  Tacoma  are  to  be  found  in  the 
Tacoma  Land  Company,  a  corporation  formed  of  certain  of  the 
preferred  stockholders  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  after 
the  selection  of  Tacoma  for  a  terminus.  This  company  pur- 
chased three  thousand  acres  already  secured  by  the  railroad 
company,  and  thirteen  thousand  more.  The  railroad  company 
secured  a  majority  of  the  stock  of  the  land  company,  and  re- 
served enough  ground  for  its  terminal  facilities,  which  comprise 
many  miles  of  track  in  the  yards,  freight  and  wheat  ware- 
houses, coal-bunkers,  freight  and  passenger  depots  and  offices. 
The  land  company,  besides  laying  off  and  improving  the  town- 
site,  has  looked  after  its  embellishment,  healthfulness,  and  con- 
venience in  many  ways.  A  reservation  was  made  of  thirty 
acres  in  the  midst  of  the  city  for  a  public  park,  which  has  been 
partially  improved  by  the  city  government.  Tacoma  is,  in  fact, 
unusually  well  provided  with  pleasure-grounds.  The  six  hun- 
dred acres  reserved  by  the  United  States  Government  at  Point 
Defiance  has  been  recently  dedicated  to  the  city  for  a  public 
park,  and  the  cit%'  council  had  secured  a  lease  of  two  school 
sections  adjoining  the  city  on  the  south  and  on  the  northwest 
(which  lands  could  not  be  purchased  before  the  admission  of  the 
State),  to  be  devoted  to  the  public  use  as  parks.    Taking  these 


THE   CITY  OF   DESTINY. 


283 


reserves  in  coimoction  with  several  smaller  ones,  and  with  the 
beautiful  park-like  country  extending  south  of  Tucoma  to  and 
beyond  Steilacoom,  it  might  be  thought  that  for  so  busy  a  town 
its  preparations  for  play  were  too  elaborate,  if  it  were  not  per- 
ceived that  they  are  in  keeping  with  everytiiing  else  about  us. 


WHERK  SHIPS   ARE   LOADED. 


What  surprises  me  more,  if  possible,  than  anything  else  is 
the  extent  of  the  Tacoman  suburbs.  You  take  a  street  car  on 
Pacific  Avenue  and  run  out  to  the  eastern  end  of  the  city.  It 
seems  a  long  way,  but  when  you  get  there  you  take  another 
line  which  goes  somewhere,  and  find  it  takes  you  half  a  dozen 
miles  out  into  the  country,  or  into  the  woods,  for  the  half-cleared 
land  is  laid  out  in  lots  and  built  up  all  along  the  line  with  com- 
fortable houses.  Then  you  come  back  and  try  another  line 
which  branches  off  into  the  Puyallup  Valley,  running  straight 
through  the  thick  woods  for  several  miles,  and  designed  to  go 
to  the  tovvn  of  Puyallup,  nine  miles  east  from  Tacoma. 


W' 


IIIM    f 


284 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


i'ou  are  tohi  thut  it  is  tho  intontiun  to  give  ihia  still  uncleared 
country  a  chance  to  supply  not  only  Taconm,  but  other  cities, 
with  Binall  Iruits  and  garden  products  as  well  as  to  afford  facili- 
ties for  rapid  transit  to  those  desiring  to  establish  suburban 
homos.  It  is  the  intention  to  adopt  a  time-sciiedule  for  tho 
accommodation  of  business  men  and  clerks  whose  interests  are 
in  the  city  as  well  as  for  tho  eight-  and  ton-hour  workingmeii. 
Trains  will  be  run  to  carry  school-cliildron  to  the  city  and  back 
at  the  proper  hours,  and  theatre-trains  as  demanded.  Think  of 
it,  ye  metropolitan  dwellers  in  your  two-hundred-yoarold  cities, 
who  after  a  day  down-town  sink  into  your  cushioned-seats  for 
an  hour's  ride  to  the  suburbs  with  a  sigh  of  contentment  that 
your  lot  is  cast  in  the  midst  of  civilization, — think  how  close 
upon  your  heels  come  some  of  those  Western  cities  which  have 
not  yet  seen  their  second  decade! 

Next  day  1  explore  the  west  end  of  the  city,  and  ride  by 
electric  railwa}-  seven  miles  in  that  direction.  It  is  the  same 
thing.  Lots  are  staked  out  all  tho  way,  and  bore  and  there  a 
house  is  going  up.  The  ground  along  the  edge  of  the  plain 
which  tops  the  bluff  has  some  defects  in  the  way  of  ravines 
which  cut  into  it  and  will  have  to  be  filled  or  bridged,  but  in  a 
scenic  point  of  view  these  deep  steep  gorges  are  worth  looking 
at.  Narrow,  with  tall  trees  and  a  variety  of  shrubbery  growing 
up  their  sides,  they  stretch  away  down,  down,  until  the  brain 
whirls  in  following  the  descent  to  the  line  of  the  Sound.  But 
how  lovingly  the  eye  rests  on  that  tranquil  sea  with  its  hither 
shore,  the  "  white  wings"  floating  above,  the  energetic  steam- 
boat defiantly  ';ro88ing  their  track,  the  asthmatic  tug  pulling  at 
something  it  has  picked  up  at  some  little  port  down  the  Sound, 
and  a  few  oar-boats  rippling  the  water  near  shore.  The  air 
comes  fresh  from  the  northwest  with  an  odor  of  the  sea  in  it, 
a  little  cool,  us  if  it  had  touched  in  passing  the  silvery  snow- 
line of  the  Olympics.  There  are  but  few  persons  in  the  car,  for 
it  is  an  early  hour  of  the  morning  to  be  going  out  of  town. 

"  I  should  be  perfectly  satisfied  to  live  here.  I  have  always 
wished  to  have  a  home  where  I  could  look  on  a  view  like  this," 
says  a  lady  to  her  Y    sband. 

"/shouldn't  be  su  fied,"  replied  her  consort,  with  contempt 
in  his  tone.    '*  Look    .v  these  town-lots  staked  off  out  here  in 


THE   CITY  OF   DESTINY. 


285 


the  woods.  Bo  3-011  suppose  any  but  a  fool  would  buy  thcin  ? 
Tacoma  is  not  going  to  grow  mucb  more,  but  Seattle  proba'ly 
will.     /  am  going  to  Seattle." 

A  smile  crept  over  my  face,  I  suppose,  for  tlio  lady  turned  to 
me  to  got  my  opinion. 

"  Of  ono  thing  I  can  assure  you,"  I  said,  evasively,  "  you  will 
find  this  same  beautiful  view  of  the  Sound  at  Seattle — it  is 
every wheio  hero — and  your  husband  will  find  the  woods  around 
Seattle  laid  out  in  town-lots." 

Then  sho  told  me  the)-  were  from  Helena,  Montiina,  which 
e.xplaincd  her  ignoianco  of  this  country ;  they  had  only  arrived 
on  the  last  train  from  the  mountains. 

We  went  to  the  end  of  the  uncompleted  road  and  walked 
about  in  the  woods  while  the  car  ran  off  a  little  way  to  a  mill 
on  a  side  track.  How  very  new  and  unfinished  it  all  is!  But 
I  mu3t  be  careful  about  putting  it  down  in  my  book  as  being 
unfinished,  or  by  the  time  it  gets  to  the  reader  the  public  will 
not  be  able  to  recognize  it.  And  when  people  are  trying  to  do 
80  much,  and  are  rather  proud  of  succeeding  so  well,  ono  must 
not  lessen  the  wind  in  their  sails  by  so  much  as  a  pin's  prick. 

The  Ryan  smelter  is  in  this  neighborhood,  and  the  railroad 
will  run  to  it  shortly.  It  is  said  to  be  the  largest  on  the  Pacific 
Coast,  and  cost  nearly  half  a  million,  being  built  by  a  syndicate 
in  St.  Paul.  It  will  smelt  gold,  silver,  lead,  and  copper  ores  ; 
and  its  capacity  will  be  five  hundred  and  sixty  tons  daily,  em- 
ploying ono  thousand  men.  It  is  expected  to  smelt  Alaskan 
ores,  silver  ores  from  South  America  brought  as  ballast  in 
^•Qssels,  and  ores  from  the  mines  of  the  Okanogan  country 
east  of  the  Cascades,  as  soon  as  transportation  for  them  can  be 
obtained. 

But  to  return  to  street  and  suburban  railways:  the  system  is 
only  about  one  3'ear  old,  and  yet  here  is  another  twelve-mile 
road  to  American  Lake  just  opened  (it  runs  to  Steilacoom  now, 
and  is  going  on  to  Nisqually  City,  more  than  half-way  to 
Olympia).  This  is  the  popular  resx^H  for  pleasure-seekers.  The 
drive  to  it,  over  the  level  prairie  jarpeted  with  a  short  fine  grass 
and  wild  flowers,  is  a  charming  one.  The  lake  itself  is  only 
about  three  miles  long  and  of  irregular  width,  with  some  pretty 
wooded  islands  in  it.    A  steam-launch,  sail-  and  I'ow-boats  have 


ij'^nf 


-'<" 


I 


I 


286 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


been  placed  upon  the  lake,  with  rustic  seats  and  tahles  around 
the  margin,  a  band-stand,  and  other  attractions.  Gravelly  Lake 
is  a  small  associate  of  American,  besides  which  there  are  severi^l 
others  within  a  few  miles,  and  a  speed-track  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. A  fine  view  of  Mount  Eainier  from  this  locality  is  one 
of  its  features. 

American  Lake  was  so  named  b}'^  Lieutenant  Wilkes,  who 
celebrated  the  Fourth  cf  July  on  its  borders  in  1841,  and  was 
confirmed  by  the  settlement  on  its  border  of  a  Methodist  mis- 
sion party  in  1842,  during  the  occupancy  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  the  Eev.  J,  P.  Eichmond  being  the  settler.  It  is 
always  interesting  to  know  even  a  little  about  the  origin  of 
things. 

Nisqually  City  (very  recently  platted  for  sale)  is  situated 
about  where  the  old  fort  stood,  which  once  represented  as 
much  as  there  was  of  civilization  in  all  this  region, — and  a  one- 
sided civilization  at  that.  The  fort  was  very  nearly  taken  by 
the  Nisqually  Indians,  at  which  time  an  American  settler  was 
shot  down  at  its  gate,  which  event  was  the  occasion  of  the  hold- 
ing of  the  first  court  north  of  the  Columbia  Eiver  by  an  Or'^gon 
judge.  Two  Indians  were  hung  for  the  murder,  and  after  that 
there  was  peace  for  a  time. 

All  these  points  to  which  run  suburban  railroads,  and  indeed 
all  points  to  which  the  Northern  Pacific  main  line  runs,  are 
counted  as  the  "  suburbs"  of  Tacoma  and  tributary  to  it.  It  is 
the  policy  of  this  railroad  company  to  build  up  one  large  city, 
with  a  good  many  minor  ones  to  support  it.  I  should  myself 
have  noticed  this  had  not  a  former  president  of  the  road  given 
utterance  to  such  a  statement.  For  some  time,  he  says,  these 
new  towns  do  not  benefit  the  central  cit}-,  but  in  due  course  the 
beet  business  ability  and  most  capital  will  seek  it,  for  people 
will  go  where  they  find  superior  advantages  for  whatever  busi- 
ness they  prefer  to  follow.  It  is  then  this  crop  of  suburban 
towns  yields  a  large  profit.  From  which  it  seems  that  not 
only  Tacoma  itself,  but  many  other  places  are  designed  by  the 
same  brains. 

I  ask  myself  is  there  any  reasonable  objection  to  these 
methods?  There  would  not  be — for  these  new  places  have 
important  help  in  starting — if  no  false  inducements  were  held 


'J: 


1    ' 


THE  CITY  OF   DESTINY. 


287 


out.  Where  there  are  several  hundred  people  together  they 
should  find  something  to  do  to  make  business,  and  they  will  if 
they  have  energy  and  a  little  capital.  But  there  are  instances, 
1  find,  of  grievous  disappointment,  where  land  companies  with 
nothing  to  back  them  have  induced  people  to  purchase  their 
property  by  misrepresenting  its  advantages,  and  leaving  them 
in  the  lurch  when  their  lots  were  disposed  of  Should  a  railroad 
company  be  wilfully  guilty  of  such  falsehood,  an  earlbr-  lake 
ought  to  swallow  it  up.  All  that  the  central  'own  would  gain 
in  that  ease  would  be,  possibly,  some  discontented  laborers, 
driven  to  it  by  distress.  In  the  majority  of  Northern  Pacific 
towns  there  is  some  real  merit,  and  their  avowed  policy  benefits 
the  country  by  filling  it  up  and  connecting  the  settlements 
with  a  market.  Therefore  I  am  not  inimical  to  railroad 
"monopoly'  in  this  country,  which  would  bo  a  half-century 
behind  the  times  without  their  aid;  nor  do  I  blame  any  com- 
munity for  resenting  an  abuse  of  power.  Let  them, try  to  hold 
the  scales  even. 

It  is  the  large  number  of  towns  laid  out  wherever  any  real  or 
])reiended  reason  can  be  put  forward  for  offering  it  which  be- 
wilders and  sometimes  distresses  the  disinterested  observer.  Sup- 
pose we  glance  at  a  few  of  these,  beginning  with  Detroit,  situated 
on  an  isthmus  at  the  head  of  Case  Inlet  and  the  lower  arm  of 
Hood's  Canal.  It  belongs  to  the  Detroit  Land  and  Improve- 
ment Company,  composed  of  Portland,  Seattle,  and  Spokane 
capitalists,  who  recently  j^urchased  five  thousand  aci'es  of  fine 
timber-land,  and  proceeded  to  lay  out  a  city,  grade  streets,  build 
a  large  hotel,  erect  water-works,  and  advertise.  There  is  no 
(ioubt  of  the  merits  of  the  location  as  to  timber,  water,  or  har- 
borage. A  good  milling-town  might  be  built  here,  and  railroads 
be  induced  to  come.  Indeed,  plans  are  already  on  foot  for  con- 
necting Tacoma  by  a  line  twenty-eight  miles  long  across  Kitsap 
('ounty  to  Gig  Harbor  opposite  Point  Defiance,  for  extending 
such  a  line  to  Gray's  Harbor,  and  another  to  Port  Orchard.  The 
"Union  Pacific  is  expected  to  come  here  from  Centralia  on  its 
way  to  Port  Orchard,  Port  Gamble,  and  to  a  point  opposite 
Port  Townsend,  thus  tapping  the  United  States  Navy  Yard 
recently  located  at  Port  Orchard,  and  one  of  the  other  great 
milling  establishments  of  the  Sound,  as  well  as  the  Straits  of 


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288 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN'. 


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Fuca.      These  are  visible  advantages  which  cannot  be  gain- 
said. ^•  ■■  ■  '    .    ,  ■...,■.■"-,;-,..,:    ,.  ;^       .  ::- 

But  not  twenty  miles  away,  where  Hood's  Canal  makes  its 
great  bend,  is  Union  City,  under  the  management  of  the  Ore- 
gon Improvement  Company.  This  is  not  a  new  town,  having 
had  an  existence  for  several  years,  but  its  pretensions  are 
similar  to  those  of  Detroit.  The  Port  Townsend  and  Southern 
will  come  here  without  doubt,  and  the  Union  Pacific  also. 
Lots  are  selling  at  from  one  hundred  to  one  thousand  dollars. 
If  you  demur  to  the  latter  price  for  lots  lately  carved  out 
of  the  forest,  you  will  be  told  that  it  has  cost  something  to  do 
the  carving,  and  that  you  get  certain  improvements  in  addition 
which  you  have  no  right  to  expect  in  a  new  country,  all  of 
which  is  true. 

Then,  again,  there  is  Pugct  City,  situated  a  little  more  than 
half-way  from  Tacoma  to  Olympia  in  a  straight  line,  on  the  east 
shore  of  the  Sound.  It  is  advertised  by  the  Puget  City  Com- 
pany as  possessing  a  beautiful  situation,  besides  which  no  com- 
merce from  any  of  the  seven  inlets  at  the  head  of  Puget  Sound 
can  reach  the  lower  Sound  "  without  passing  before  this  rising 
young  metropolis."  Its  "  unexcelled  deep  water  facilities  and 
the  railroads,  Union  and  Northern  Pacific,"  are  among  its 
advantages;  and  "the  song  of  the  saw-mill  is  heard  all  day 
long,"  building  being  active. 

And  here  is  Des  Moines,  twelve  miles  from  Tacoma,  and  about 
an  equal  distance  from  Seattle.  It  was  laid  out  in  1889  by  the 
Des  Moines  Improvement  Company,  of  Tacoma,  who  erected  a 
saw-mill,  the  output  of  which,  twenty  thousand  foet  per  diem, 
was  applied  to  the  erection  of  business  houses  and  residences. 
A  brick-yard,  a  pottery-factory,  shingle-mill,  and  other  indus- 
tries were  at  once  inaugurated,  and  the  work  went  bravely  on 
until  the  company's  means  were  exhausted.  Now,  I  unde:  stand, 
the  population,  which  consisted. principally  of  the  company's 
employees,  is  daily  dimini.'^hing,  and  that  those  who  remain  are 
in  want. 

Perhaps  these  reverses  came  from  bad  management,  for  there 
is  nothing  to  be  said  against  the  country  that  does  not  apply  to 
almost  every  portion  of  the  Puget  Sound  region, — namely,  that 
it  requires  labor  and  capital  for  its  development ;  and  what  new 


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^^mmf^fim^mww  ^tf'wvum 


THE   CITY   OF   DESTINY, 


289 


country  docs  not?  "We  say,  glibly,  that  there  are  too  mnny 
towns  for  the  population,  and  too  larsjje  a  part  of  the  population 
in  towns;  therefore,  let  us  place  the  people  all  on  farms,  each 
settler  to  work  out  his  own  salvation.  The  result  would  be  a 
generation  spent  in  lonely  toil,  and  no  market  provided  for  the 
products  of  farming.  Is  not  the  modern  way  of  letting  capital 
do  the  work  of  development,  of  building  up  cities  to  furnish  a 
thousand  employments  for  the  one  of  agriculture,  and  of  fur- 
nishing buyers  of  the  farm  productions  of  the  country  at  good 
prices,  a  better  one  ?     Quien  sabe  ? 

But,  let  us  get  back  to  Tacoma  and  her  other  tributary  terri- 
tory, indulging  in  some  reminiscences  by  the  way.  At  a  meet- 
ing of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad 
Company  held  September  10,  1873,  Judge  R.  I).  Rice,  of  Maine, 
vice-president,  and  Captain  J.  C.  Ainsworth,  of  Portland,  Ore- 
gon, managing  director  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  commissioners  to 
examine  the  eastern  shore  line  of  Puget  Sound,  throughout  its 
entire  extent,  for  a  suitable  terminus,  made  a  report,  in  accord- 
ance with  which  the  company  passed  a  resolution  to  locate  and 
construct  its  main  road  to  the  southerly  side  of  Commencement 
Bay,  "and  within  the  limits  of  the  city  of  Tacoma,"  from 
which  it  would  apj>ear  that  the  fact  of  Tacoma's  existence  had 
been  already  determined,  as  indeed  it  was  in  the  month  of  June 
prior  to  this  report.  Some  transactions  in  real  estate  hud  taken 
place  previous  to  the  failure  of  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.,  and  continued 
to  take  place  in  a  doubting  wa}',  and  without  any  excitement. 

When  the  railroad  had  recovered  from  this  failure,  and  was 
straining  eveiy  nerve  under  Villard's  management  to  make  con- 
nection with  Portland,  and  thence  to  reach  the  Sound  by  this 
branch  and  avoid  the  expenditure  of  many  millions  in  crossing 
the  Cascades,  came  the  second — Villard's — failure,  ten  years 
after  the  first.  Public  confidence  was  unsettled,  not  only  b}' 
these  financial  difficulties,  but  by  fears  that  the  management 
would  not,  after  all,  cross  the  mountains,  or,  if  it  did.  that  it  might 
make  the  terminus  at  Seattle.  Thus  fourteen  years  slipped 
away,  during  which  the  Tacoma  Land  Company  laid  out  the 
first  streets  and  made  considerable  improvements,  C.  B.  Wright, 
of  Philadelphia,  being  very  active  in  directing  these.  Under  his 
management  the  Hotel  Tacoma  was  completed  in  1884.     Tie 

19 


290 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


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built  a  handsome  churoh,  and  endowed  the  Annie  'A'right  Sem- 
inary for  girls,  and  Washington  College  for  boys,  with  fifty 
thousand  dollars  each. 

Gas-  and  water-works  were  erected,  wharves  built,  and  with 
these  things  the  value  of  real  estate  increased.  But  it  again 
declined,  and  from  1884  to  1887,  while  there  was  a  doubt  of  the 
final  settlement  of  the  question  of  terminus,  ihere  was  a  contin- 
ual depression.  But  when  on  the  1st  of  July,  1887,  the  road 
was  opened  to  Tacoma  the  reaction  was  like  the  rebound  of  a 
bent  bow.  Sales  of  real  estate  were  quadrupled  in  six  months, 
and  in  another  twelve  months  had  quadrupled  again,  after 
which  they  increased  by  about  four  million  dollars  annually. 
In  1887  the  population  was  about  nine  thousand  ;  in  1889,  thirty 
thousand ;  in  1890,  forty  thousand  one  hundred  and  c^xt^'-five, 
and  Pierce  County,  until  recently  sparselj'^  settled,  contained 
fifty  thousand  and  sixty-five  inhabitants. 

Without  stopping  to  inquire  what  brought  all  these  people 
together  here  in  so  short  a  space,  or  whence  they  came,  let  us 
consider  what  they  have  done.  They  have  covered  the  land  as 
far  as  the  view  extends  and  for  some  distance  back  from  the 
bay  with  tasteful  homes  on  cleanly,  sidewalked,  and  sewered 
streets.  To  do  this  at  the  rate  of  thousand.?  of  houses  a  year 
implies  an  enormous  amount  of  material  and  an  incalculable 
amount  of  labor  in  putting  it  in  shape.  The  city's  expenses  for 
street  improvements  in  1889  were  three  hundred  and  fifty- 
thi'ee  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighteen  dollars  and  ninety- 
six  cents. 

In  its  infancy  the  city  was  compelled  to  import  all  kinds  of 
manufactures  with  the  exception  of  lumber,  coal,  wheat,  hops, 
and  hides,  but  the  tide  is  turning,  and  already  there  are  machine- 
shops,  locomotive-works,  iron-  and  brass-founderies,  furniture- 
factories,  sewer-pipe,  tile,  and  pottery  works,  brick-yards,  flour- 
mills,  shingle-mills,  sash-  and  door-factories,  with  many  minor 
industries,  the  number  of  which  is  daily  increasing. 

Tacoma's  public  school  property  is  valued  at  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  A  Methodist  university  is  being  erected, 
which  has  been  endowed  by  a  gift  of  seventy-five  thousand 
dollars  from  citizens  of  Tacoma.  The  Pacific  Lutheran  Univer- 
sity is  to  be  here.     There  is  also  a  business  college,  a  Catholic 


WW-TVP-TW. 


THE  CITY    OF   DESTINY, 


291 


academy,  the  Tacoma  Academy  (Protestant),  Tacoma  Kinder- 
garten, and  other  private  schools. 

Of  churches  there  are  twenty-throe,  divided  among  the  vari- 
ous sects  as  follows:  Presbyterian,  Protestant  Episcopal,  Con- 
gregational, Baptist,  and  Lutheran,  three  each ;  Methodist, 
four;  Unitarian,  Free  Evangelical,  Christian,  and  Catholic,  one 
each,  having  their  own  edifices ;  while  other  organizations  are 
not  yet  provided  for. 

Of  charitable  societies  there  are  a  number.  The  Fannie  C. 
Paddock  Hospital  was  first  established  when  Tacoma  was  u 
small  town  by  Bishop  Paddock,  of  this  city,  in  memory  of  his 
wife.  With  the  growth  of  the  town  it  has  been  enlarged  by 
frequent  contributions  until  it  is  at  present  a  noble  institution. 
The  Tacoma  Hospital  is  a  private  one.  The  Seamen's  Friend 
Society,  the  White  Shield  Society,  Humane  Society  and  Union 
Relief  Association,  and  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  all 
do  good  work.  There  are  besides  these  the  usual  secret  benevo- 
lent societies  with  a  large  membershii). 

The  last  want  to  be  recognized  is  the  intellectual  or  literary 
need,  because,  forsooth,  it  scarcely  exists  during  the  rush  and 
whirr  of  the  wheels  of  rapid  material  progress,  but,  as  leisure 
comes  and  quietude,  it  makes  itself  felt.  Tacoma  has  no  public 
librar}'  commensurate  with  its  means,  although  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  Library  and  the  Tacoma  Mercan- 
tile Library  Association  supply  the  place  of  one  to  a  consider- 
able extent,  or  rather  they  fill  their  places  well  while  they  leave 
room  for  the  other.  The. Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
has  a  handsome  building,  and  does  a  good  work. 

Of  newspapers  Tacoma  has  three  dailies,  the  Tacoma  Daily 
Ledger,  an  eight-page  morning  paper;  the  Globe,  also  a  morning 
sheet;  and  the  News,  an  afternoon  dailj\  The  Sunday  Times  is 
an  illustrated  eight-page  journal,  giving  the  society  news  of  the 
week ;  besides  which  the  Baptist  Sentinel,  Northwest  Horticul- 
tural and  Stock  Journal,  and  the  Ihal  Estate  Journal  are  week- 
lies. Of  monthlies  there  are  the  Real  Estate  and  Investment 
Journal,  the  Bulletin,  and  Washington  Magazine,  a  literary  ven- 
ture. A  Daily  Hotel  Reporter  and  the  Puget  Sound  Guide  are 
weekly  publications  to  inform  the  public  of  changes  occur- 
ring  in   the   facilities  for   travel   and   hotel   accommodations. 


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292 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN'. 


The  Puget  Sound  Printing  Company  is  an  institution  of 
Tacoma. 

The  most  conspicuous  public  buildings  in  Tacoma  are  the 
Norihern  Pacific  Headquarters,  the  Hotel  Tacoma,  Hotel 
Rochester,  Tacoma  Theatre,  Fannie  Paddock  Hospital  (new), 
Annie  Wright  Seminary,  Si.  Luke's  Church,  New  Presbyterian 
Church,  Swedish  Lutheran  Church,  the  Gei-mania  Hall,  and 
Chamber  of  Commerce.  But  just  at  this  day  and  hour  the 
Tacoma  Land  Company  have  under  consideration  the  plans  for 
a  new  hotel  to  surpass  the  "Tacoma,"  and  to  cost  half  a  million. 
They  are  also  looking  for  the  source  of  a  future  water-supply, 
the  result  of  which  will  be  something  fine  in  the  way  of  water- 
works. Every  morning's  jjaper  tell  us  of  some  projected  im- 
provement involving  a  great  expenditure  of  money. 

All  this  is  nothing  when  compared  with — let  us  say  Chicago; 
but  it  is  pretty  well  for  Tacoma,  whose  real  growth  began  four 
years  ago.  The  money  to  do  these  things,  wo  suggest,  was 
drawn  from  the  East.  Yes,  from  the  Eastern  United  States 
largely,  but  also  from  the  Orient,  from  Great  Britain,  from 
South  America,  and  from  nearer  home. 

Take  an  example  of  the  introduction  of  capital  from  St. 
Paul.  The  St.  Paul  and  Tacoma  Lumber  Company  purchased 
from  the  land  department  of  the  Norihern  Pacific  Railroad 
Company  a  tract  of  timbered  land  comprising  the  odd  sections 
in  fourteen  townships  lying  southeast  of  Tacoma  and  south 
of  Wilkeson  and  Orting  in  the  Puyallup  Valley,  comprising 
eighty  thousand  acres  covered  witji  a  heavy  growth  of  fir, 
cedar,  and  spruce,  estimated  to  amount  to  three  billion  feet. 
One  of  the  conditions  of  the  sale  to  the  St.  Paul  and  Tacoma 
Lumber  Company  of  this  immense  tract  of  valuable  timber 
was  the  construction  by  them  of  a  railroad  of  standard  gauge 
and  equipment  from  the  town  of  Orting,  on  the  line  of  the 
Northern  Pacific,  in  a  southerly  course  to  the  Nisqually  River, 
and  thence  eastward  into  the  coal  fields  of  the  Cascade  Moun- 
tains, to  serve  the  double  purpose  of  bringing  out  timber  and 
coal  and  opening  up  the  country  to  settlement.  The  St.  Paul 
company  also  bound  itself  to  cut  a  certain  amount  of  timber 
per  year  on  these  lands,  which  should  be  shipped  to  Tacoma, 
where  they  were  to  build  mills  with  a  capacity  of  one  hundred 


<i 


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1 1 


THE   CITY   OF    DESTINY. 


29.*^ 


million  feet  annually.  Forty  acres  wero  purchiised  at  the  head 
of  Commencement  Bay,  and  costly  improvomentP  made,  thereby 
setting  the  example  of  utilizing  the  tide-flats  for  business  pur- 
poses, an  example  which  was  quickly  followed  by  other  com- 
panies. The  St.  Paul  mill  now  furnishes  employment  to  four 
hundred  men,  besides  three  hundred  in  the  logging-cam ])s  and 
as  many  more  on  contract  work  in  the  citj-.  It  manufactures 
about  five  million  feet  of  lumber  per  month,  nearly  half  of 
which  is  sold  in  Tacoma,  the  other  half  going  east  by  rail  or 
being  shipped  by  vessels  for  a  sea-voyage. 

The  Commencomoni  Bay  Land  and  Improvement  Company  is 
a  local  one,  which,  seeing  the  value  of  the  flats  in  the  east  end 
of  the  Bay,  have  purchased  and  are  constructing  upon  them 
wharves,  warehouses,  and  manufactories.— so  quickly  does  one 
act  of  development  inaugurate  a  second. 

But  I  had  begun  to  sa}'  that  not  all  the  money  expended  here 
in  building  up  a  model  city  comes  from  the  Bast,  and  these  im- 
provements in  the  harbor  remind  me  to  go  back  to  my  theme. 
It  is,  after  all,  only  by  taking  accoui. .  of  Tacoma's  exports  that 
we  begin  to  understand  how  the  money  is  to  come  back  which 
is  expended  here. 

Lumber  has  always  been  and  must  remain  one  of  the  princi- 
pal articles  of  export  from  Puget  Sound  ports.  The  St.  Paul 
and  Tacoma,  Pacific  Mill,  Tacoma  Mill  (at  old  town),  and  the 
Gig  Harbor  Mill,  together  manufacture  two  hundred  million 
feet  of  lumber  annually,  the  exported  portion  of  which  output 
is  valued  at  neai'ly  nine  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  export 
of  coal  from  this  port  is  yet  in  its  infancj',  but  in  1888,  during 
a  coal  famine  in  California  owing  to  an  avoidance  of  the  port 
of  San  Francisco  by  vessels  which  usually  bring  coal  in  ballast, 
.there  were  shipped  from  Tacoma  seventy  eight  cargoes,  or  two 
hundred  and  sixty -eight  thousand  tons,  of  coal,  valued  at  one 
million  four  hundred  and  seventy-four  thousand  dollars.  Fifty 
of  these  cargoes  were  Carbon  Hill  coal,  which  mine  is  the  prop- 
erty of  the  Southern  Pacific  Eailroad  of  California,  while  the 
South  Prairie  Mines  in  the  Puyallup  Valley  and  the  Bucoda 
Mines  of  Thurston  County  furnished  the  remainder,  with  the 
exception  of  one  cargo  of  Durham  coal. 

The  Eoslyn  Mines,  on  the  line  of  the  Northern  Pacific,  which 


i 


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III 

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gi    t  ■■ 


294 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


furnish  fiiol  i'ov  this  road,  have  not  oxpurtod  coal  until  the  past 
year,  when  tho  output  from  the»n  was  one  hundrod  and  sixty 
thousand  tons,  and  Bineo  tho  iuiprovcinont  in  tho  facililios  for 
handling  coal  on  the  water  front;  but  whether  exported  or  con- 
sumed at  home,  when  the  demand  increases  with  the  population, 
this  contributes  to  the  wealth  of  Tacoma. 

The  export  from  Tacoma  of  shingles  by  the  train  load  to  tho 
East  is  a  new  item  of  commerce  which  has  already  beconio 
important.  The  old-fushioned  shingle  which  was  made  with 
a  drawing-knife  and  shaving-horse  was  some  years  ago  super- 
seded by  the  i)ortable  shingle-mill,  and  the  nmking  of  shingles, 
instead  of  being  a  haphazard,  rainy-day  occupation  for  the 
settler  or  lumberman,  became  a  manufacture  emploj-ing  a  good 
deal  of  capital. 

There  were  about  eighty-five  of  these  mills  in  West  Wash- 
ington, some  of  which  had  no  regular  :iL,'encies  or  market  for 
the'r  manufactures.  In  1889  a  conibination  of  forty  of  them 
was  ettected  by  the  organization  of  the  North  Pacific  Consoli- 
dated Shingle  Company,  with  a  capital  invested  in  its  various 
mills  of  one  million  dollars. 

Tho  shingles  are  made  from  red  cedar,  which  neither  shrinks 
nor  warps  and  is  excoedingly  durable,  and  are  graded  into 
"  extra'  and  "  standard"  lol".  Special  sizes  and  fancy  butts  are 
furnished  as  ordered.  One  sees  many  of  these  used  for  siding, 
on  Tacoma  houses,  with  u  very  pretty  effect,  the  lower  edges 
being  rounded.  They  are  o^^\y  used  on  the  second  story  and  on 
houses  of  the  cottage  order  and  of  fanciful  designs. 

Tho  Washington  shingle  is  absolutely  perfect,  being  cut  from 
timber  without  a  knot  or  flaw,  and  of  regulation  size.  Hence, 
with  their  other  good  qualities  they  are  much  desired  by  builders. 
The  North  Pacific  Consolidated  Company  shij)ped  in  1889 — its 
first  year  of  business — fifteen  hundred  car-loads,  valued  at  four 
hundred  and  ten  thousand  dollars.  The  first  train  left  Tacoma 
on  the  12th  of  August,  with  colors  flying  and  amid  the  cheering 
of  spectators.  It  reached  Chicago  on  the  21st.  Denver  alone 
took  five  hundred  car-loads,  the  other  two-thirds  being  taken  in 
the  Middle  States, — New  York  and  New  England.  Special 
cars,  it  is  thought,  will  have  to  be  provided  for  them,  and  the 
demand'  is  already  greater  than  the  supply. 


THE  CITY   OF   DESTINY, 


295 


The  only  mills  which  manufiictiiro  flour  for  export  arc  located 
at  Tacoma,  one  already  turning  out  two  hundred  barrolw  daily, 
and  another  with  a  capacity  of  six  hundred  barrels  about  to  bo 
erected. 

The  value  of  wheat  shipped  from  Tacoma  in  1889  was  esti- 
mated to  exceed  six  million  dollars,  and  it  was  believed  that 
this  amount  would  bo  mure  than  doubled  in  1890,  which  it  has 
been,  without  doubt,  but,  owing  to  the  overproduction  of  East 
Washington  this  year,  and  the  confusion  ensuing  upon  the 
crowded  condition  of  warehouses,  and  lack  of  vessels  to  take  it 
a-^ay,  the  wheat  export  is  still  an  unknown  quantity. 

Few  in  number  us  are  the  exports  of  Tacoma,  they  are  the 
same  as  those  of  the  older  Puget  Sound  towns.  The  time  is 
hastening,  but  has  not  yet  arrived,  when  manufactures  shall  bo 
carried  on  upon  a  scale  to  exceed  the  local  demand  or  even  to 
reach  it.  In  the  moan  time  imports  are  largo.  The  only  car- 
goes going  East  besides  lumber,  shingles,  and  coal  are  ship-loads 
of  tea  from  the  Orient,  five  of  which  in  1888  aggregated  eleven 
million  eight  hundred  and  ninety-six  thousand  six  hundred  and 
eighty  pounds. 

The  various  small  industries  of  the  city  employ  an  aggi-egato 
capital  of  over  five  million  dollars,  and  emplo}-  more  than  three 
thousand  persons. 

The  commercial  banks  of  Tacoma  are  nine  in  number,  with 
two  savings-banks,  six  of  the  commercial  banks  being  national 
and  three  private.  The  aggregate  capital  of  the  nine  is  one 
million  one  hundred  and  ninety  thousand  dollars,  and  of  the 
two,  one  hundred  and  thirt}-  thousand  dollars.  The  deposits  of 
seven  of  the  nine  amounted  in  September,  1889,  to  four  million 
one  hundred  and  ten  thousand  and  thirteen  dollars,  an  increase 
of  over  a  million  in  three  months.  The  city's  finances  are  re- 
ported in  a  sound  condition,  and  its  debt  small  for  the  amount 
of  territory  covered,  showing  good  management. 

The  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Tacoma  was  organi?:",d  in 
February,  1884,  its  first  president  being  General  J.  W.  Sprague ; 
vice-presidents,  J.  M.  Buckley  and  W.  J.  Thompson ;  treasurei', 
Byron  Barlow;  secretary,  Edmund  Rice.  It  has  played  an 
important  part  in  the  development  of  the  city  and  its  most  im- 
portant industries.     Its  first  building  was  erected  several  years 


M 


i ; 


ii-ll 


296 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


a<50  on  Pacific  Avenue  and  Twelfth  Street;  but  there  is  a  new 
and  elegant  building  going  up  on  Pacific  Avenue  and  Seventh 
Street  better  suited  to  the  tastes  and  necessities  of  this  august 
body.  It  is  six  stories  in  height,  built  of  stone,  with  carvings 
and  niches  for  statuary,  and  surmounted  by  a  clock-tower  one 
hundred  and  ninety-five  feet  above  the  ground.  The  interior  is 
designed  to  correspond  with  the  outside,  and  the  "chamber" 
alone  will  seat,  with  its  gallei '-«,  one  thousand  persons. 

Tacoma  has  a  wholesale  as  well  as  an  active  retail  trade,  ncarlj'' 
all  lines  of  goods  being  represented.  I  am  told  that  a  conserva- 
tive estimate  of  its  wholesale  business  in  1889  would  be  from 
eight  million  to  ten  million  dollars  aside  fiom  those  productions 
sold  wholesale  already  mentioned,  and  this  trade  has  but  very 
recently  been  attempted. 

Groceries,  always  an  important  branch  of  trade,  are  sold 
wholesale  by  a  number  of  houses,  three  of  which  are  confined 
exclusively  to  this  business.  The  largest  of  these  is  the  Tacoma 
Grocery  Company,  organized  near  the  close  of  1888,  Charles  E. 
Hale,  president,  which  sold  goods  to  the  amount  of  one  million 
dollars  the  first  year. 

Paints,  oils,  and  glass  sell  '^normously  in  Tacoma.  besides 
which  hardware  and  farming  implements  is  another  good  job- 
bing trade  in  a  new  country,  and  Tacoma  has  several  houses 
which  sell  from  seventy-five  thousand  dollars'  to  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  goods  annually.  Farm-produce  is 
also  jobbed  at  the  rate  of  from  seventy-five  thousand  dollars  to 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  yearly.  Dairy  products, 
canned  goods,  dried  fruit,  grain,  and  flour,  each  constitute  a 
wholesale  business  for  several  firms.  One  house  deals  exclusively 
in  tea,  coffee,  and  spices,  with  sales  amounting  to  fifty  thousand 
dollars  per  annum ;  and  besides,  some  of  the  retail  firms  do  a 
business  of  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year  in  spicial  lines  of  goods. 

The  Tacoma  Mill  Company  jells  two  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars'  worth  of  general  merchandise  every  year,  at  job- 
bing rates;  the  Skagit  River  Railway  and  Logging  Company, 
a  Tacoma  corporation,  as  much ;  and  the  St.  Paul  and  Tacoma 
Lumber  Company,  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  annually. 

One  jobbing  house  in  Tacoma  sells  one  million  dollars'  worth 
of  dry-goods  and  clothing  every  year,  and  carries  a  stock  worth 


THE   CITY   OF   DESTINY. 


297 


a  quarter  of  a  million.  Furniture  and  house-furnishing  goods 
may  be  purchased  wholesale  in  Tacoma,  and  of  every  descrip- 
tion, from  the  most  elegant  to  the  plainest,  from  two  or  three 
furniture  companies. 

The  Tacoma  Trading  Company  deals  in  building-material, 
coal,  haj',  grain,  and  lime,  has  a  capital  of  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
and  sells  three  hundred  and  fift}-  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  goods 
to  dealers  in  Washington  and  British  Columbia.  The  Yakimn. 
Tacoma  Trading  Coiiipary  i.^  in  the  same  business.  Wuuu  I  say 
that  drugs,  liquors,  books,  boots  and  shoes,  leather,  carriages, 
and  dressed  meats  for  logging-camps  are  sold  wholesale  in  this 
young  city,  I  have  nearly  covered  the  ground  occupied  b}'  job- 
bers in  any  city;  and  I  have  perhaps  wearied  the  reader  to 
show  him  how  these  'western  towns  commence  life, — near  the 
top  of  the  ladder,  instead  of  at  the  bottom. 


Lot  us  now  take  a  ride  to  old  Tacoma,  and  explore  a  little 
further  into  the  already  almost  forgotten  beginnings  of  things. 
This  is  a  really  pretty  site  for  a  settlement,  being  nea^  the  water's 
edge,  with  a  view  of  the  bay  in  front,  and  sheltering  bills  at 
the  back.  It  has  a  rural  air  quite  in  contrast  to  the  ambitious 
look  of  the  newer  city.  I  have  the  curiosity  to  call  on  Mrs. 
McCarver,  who  occupies  a  modest  home  in  the  place  where  her 
husband  died.  We  talk  a  little  about  him,  and  what  local  his- 
torians have  said  of  him,  and  then  I  go  to  see  the  famous  bell- 
towor  of  St.  Peter's  little  pioneer  church  round  the  corner.  The 
church  is  plain  to  dreariness,  and  the  tower  is  simply  a  cedar- 
tree  sawed  oft'  fifty  feet  from  the  ground  and  wreathed  around 
with  ivy.  A  beil  is  hung  above  it  in  a  frame-work,  which  is 
topped  with  a  roof  like  an  extinguisher,  surmounted  by  a  cross. 
It  is  a  pretty  conceit,  and  the  only  object  at  all  picturesque  in 
the  sleepy  old  place.         ..     •  •  ■'     .    '    '-" 

I  breathe  more  freely  when  I  regain  the  heights  of  the  new 
city,  and  rest  my  gaze  on  the  roofs  of  Pacific  Avenue  where  I 
know  brainy  men  are  planning  more  railroads,  a  steamship  line 
to  China,  and  other  ways  co  control  the  trade  of  the  Occident 
and  the  Orient.  My  eyes  wander  further  eastward,  over  the 
head  of  the  bay,  the  Puyallup  flats,  the  Indian  reservation,  and 
the  distant  mountains,  to  Mount  Rainier  ifself,  where  they  rest 


298 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


'■;i 


while  I  question  whether  I  should  yield  to  r  local  whim  and  call 
the  grand  old  peak  Mount  Tacoma.  Eainier  it  has  been  for  a 
hundrvJ  years.     It  does  not  belong  to  one  part  of  the  Sound 


OLD   TACOMA's   BKLL-TOWKR. 

country  more  than  another,  and  all  other  communities  except 
this  one  honor  the  old  "  lord  of  the  admiralty."  Olympia  and 
Seattle  cry  out  against  the  change,  and,  since  Tacoma  does  not 
hold  any  realty  on  the  majestic  mountain,  the  majority  must 
prevail, — must  it  not? 

If  you  desire  to  get  away  from  Taco"ia,  you  have  the  ':'<jvthern 
Pacific  Eailroad  to  carry  you  east,  south,  or  north  b^  .,  nnd 
steamboats  to  any  part  of  the  Sound.  The  lines  controlled  by 
railroads  are  the  Union  Pacific  (0.  E.  and  N.)  boats,  which  ply 
between  Tacoma,  Olympia,  and  Kamilche ;  between  Tacoma, 
Seattle,  Port  Townsen  1,  and  Victoria ;  and  btlwi'^r  Tacoma  and 
the  towns  on  Bellingham  Bay,  calling  at  Joatdo. 

The  Canadian  Pacific  Eailroad  runs  a  fino  bjiiv  between 
Tacoma  and  Vancouver,  British  Columbia,  calling  at  Seattle, 


THE  CITY  OF  DESTINY. 


299 


.11 

a 


V 


cept 
and 
rat 

must 


thern 
and 
edby 
hply 
coma, 
a  and 

tween 
eattle, 


Port  Townsend,  Anacortes,  Fairhaven,  Sehoine,  and  Whatcom. 
The  Pacific  Navigation  Company,  a  Tacoma  corporation,  runs 
its  steamers  from  Tacoma  to  Whatcom,  stopping  at  Seattle, 
T"'^tsalady,  Anacortes,  Samish,  Fairhaven,  and  Sehome ;  and  also 
on  other  routes  coastwise,  and  among  the  islands  ia  the  Sau 
Juan  Archipelago.  ; 

The  Whatcom,  Sehome,  and  Fairhaven  Company  has  a  fleet 
of  seven  boats  which  run  on  the  several  routes  between  Tacoma 
and  Whatcom;  besides  which  there  are  forty  other  steamboats, 
including  tusrs,  which  pl\^  on  the  Sound  iu  and  out  of  Tacoma 
and  to  eve'y  place  where  business  is. 

But  as  I  wished  to  see  the  country  tributary  to  Tacoma, 
namely,  the  Puyallup  Yalley,  1  took  the  train  for  Seattle  which 
runs  up  the  Yalley  as  far  as  the  town  of  Puyallup,  where  the 
Seattle  branch  comes  in. 

I  have  it  from  Hon.  Elwood  Evans,  who  came  to  Washington 
in  1853  with  Governor  I.  I.  Stevens,  and  who  has  dver  been  a 
careful  observer  and  student  of  Northwest  history,  that  the 
meaning  of  the  Indian  word  Puyallup  is  shadow  or  gloom. 
They  attached  it  to  the  river  from  the  obscurity  of  its  waters, 
which  ran  darkling  between  banks  overhung  with  the  densest 
of  forest  shrubbery,  and  shadowed  by  tall  trees  which  covered 
the  Valley  everywhere  except  where  thei'e  occurred  those  singu- 
lar small  prairies  referred  to  in  my  remarks  on  the  Chohalis 
Valley.  These  prairies  were  early  fixed  upon  by  settlers,  and 
still  bear  the  names  of  pioneers  who  as  early  as  1855  had  ex- 
tended their  imp^'ovements  from  Commencement  Bay  to  South 
Prairie. 

Then  fell  the  blow  which  has  so  often  fullen  upon  frontier 
communities,  and  the  gloom  whicb  hung  over  the  valleys  on 
the  east  side  of  Puget  Sound  was  not  only  that  of  the  forest, 
but  that  which  bad  made  a  "  dark  and  bloody  ground"  ol  almost 
every  State  in  its  turn,  from  Massachusetts  to  Washington.  In 
1856,  to  satisfy  the  Indians,  the  reservation  first  allowed  them 
by  Governor  Stevens  was  enlarged,  and  extended  up  the  river 
on  both  sidus  until  it  embraced  a  dozen  claims  of  settlers  who 
were  already  driven  from  them  by  massacre  or  flight.  Not  a 
family  dared  return  to  the  Valley  until  1859,  when  a  few  ven- 
tured again  to  reside  upon  their  former  claims  or  take  new  ones. 


..,'t  ■& 


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■  ■■■!    ,i^ 

:Si    t 


300 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


One  of  these  few  was  J.  P.  Stewart,  who  took  for  his  claim 
the  land  on  which  the  town  of  Puyallup  now  stands,  and  in 
1861  the  post-offico  of  Franklin  was  established  there.  Such 
was  the  beginning.  '  >  '  •  ■ 

Puyallup,  which  name  seems  to  have  superseded  Franklin,  is 
situated  i  the  south  side  of  the  river,  and  just  beyond  the 
Indian  ret  ^  n.     It  is  a  town  of  two  thousand  inhabitants, 

neatly  built,  h  a  good  hotel  and  a  general  air  of  thrift. 
Everything  is  on  one  level  at  Puyallup,  and  for  a  change  from 
the  diversity  my  eyes  have  lately  beheld,  J.  am  pleased  with  it. 

This  "Valley  was  once  an  arm  of  the  Sound,  as  is  plainly  evi- 
dent from  the  nature  and  direction  of  the  water-courses  on 
the  east  of  Admiralty  Inlet.  Look  at  the  map.  There  is  the 
Puyallup  River  coming  down  from  Mount  Rainier,  and  falling 
quite  abruptly  into  the  Valley.  There  is  White  River  coming 
down  from  another  peak  on  the  north  of  Nachess  Pass,  a  coun- 
terpart of  the  Puyallup,  only  half  a  dozen  miles  from  it,  and 
connected  with  it  by  the  Stuck,  a  sluggish  stream  that  flows 
through  marshy  ground  north  or  south  indifferently,  according 
to  the  state  of  the  two  rivers.  Two  or  three  miles  north  of 
the  Stuck  junction  with  the  White  comes  in  Green  River,  a 
branch  heading  on  the  north  side  of  the  Stampede  Pass.  About 
twelve  miles  north  of  Green  River  Junction  the  White  River 
unites  with  the  Dwamish,  which  comes  out  of  Lake  Washington 
.  and  flows  northwest  into  the  Sound  at  Seattle.  But  the  Dwam- 
ish is  only  another  stretch  of  Cedar  River,  which  comes  down 
from  the  mountains  also  and  flows  into  Lake  Washinixton,  to 
flow  out  again  by  the  same  mouth  and  become  the  Dwamish. 

Lake  Washington,  twenty  miles  long,  is  connected  with  Sam- 
mamish  Lake,  six  miles  east  of  it,  by  Sammamish  River,  which 
resembles  the  Stuck  for  sluggishness,  but  which  Las  seven 
smaller  streams  comins;  into  it  from  the  north  and  east.  Bo- 
sides.  Lake  Washington  is  connected  with  the  Sound  through 
Union  Lake  and  a  natural  outlet  into  Salmon  Bay.  Green 
Lake  is  also  connected  with  Lake  Washington,  and  there  are  a 
dozen  smaller  ones  between  Pu}  allup  River  and  the  larger  lake, 
which  is  in  the  centre  apparently  of  a  basin  once  occupied  by 
the  waters  of  the  Sound.  This  is  the  coal  basin  whence  both 
Tacomn  and  Seattle  derive  their  present  and  prospective  wealth  ; 


THE   CITY   OF   DESTINY. 


301 


but  only  the  southern  portion  of  it  is  immediately  tributary  to 
Tacoma. 

The  soil  of  the  Puyallup  Valley  is  in  general  an  alluvial  de- 
posit of  great  depth.  About  Puyallup  it  is  sandy,  and  espLcially 
adapted  to  hops,  which  is  the  chief  production  of  the  fields  in 
this  vicinity.  Nothing  could  be  prettier  than  these  hop-fields 
about  harvest  time,  and  few  crops  are  so  satisfactory  as  to 
income.  There  were  "raised  this  year  between  Tacoma  and 
Seattle,  including  one  hop-farm  at  Snoqualmie,  forty  thousand 
bales  of  two  hundred  pounds  each,  or  eight  million  pounds.  As 
the  price  was  very  good  this  year,  the  money  realized,  above  the 
cost  of  raising  the  crop,  was  one  million  six  hundred  and  eighty 
thousand  dollars.  About  ten  thousand  bales  were  raised  in 
other  parts  of  the  State,  which  brings  the  year's  returns  on  this 
one  product  of  the  valleys  about  the  Sound  up  to  two  million 
dollars.  I  might  say  here,  also,  that  the  hop-crop  of  Oregon 
this  year  netted  about  one  million  dollars.  And  yet  the  extent 
of  territory  covered  by  hop-farms  ii  comparatively  small.  The 
acre  value  of  hops  in  a  good  year  is  about  three  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars;  this  year  it  was  more,  on  account  of  a  poor  crop 
abroad.  The  Northern  Pacific  carried  its  first  solid  hop-train 
from  the  Puyallup  in  September,  1890.  It  consisted  of  twenty- 
five  cars  carrying  fifteen  thousand  pounds  each,  or  one  hundred 
and  eighiy-seven  tons.  They  were  shipped  to  Baltimore  to  go 
to  London.  I  hear  it  said  that  hop-vines  are  to  be  used  in 
making  paper  and  twine.  If  this  is  so,  there  need  be  no  waste 
on  the  off  years. 

It  is  a  great  feature  in  favor  of  Puyallup  that  its  transporta- 
tion facilities  are  so  good  with  the  Northern  Pacific,  a  transcon- 
tinental road,  at  its  doors,  a  road  to  Seattle  and  Tacoma,  and  its 
special  local  road  to  the  latter,  making  it  a  suburb  of  that  city. 
The  Valley  is  prolific  of  vegetables  and  small  fruits,  as  it  must 
be  of  orchard  fruits  when  they  come  into  bearing  more  generally. 
Apples,  pears,  peaches,  pnines,  and  apricots  are  said  to  yield 
large  crops.  Thus,  with  so  favorable  a  soil  and  climate,  and  a 
market  within  seven  miles  bv  rail,  the  farmers  of  this  favored 
region  should  become  rich. 

Continuing  up  the  Valley,  Alderton  is  the  next  station  we 
come  to,  a  small  place,  but  with  the  same  general  and  aatural 


nt 


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■1 

■)■      . 

.■■      '       '  '■ 

t 

S'l' 


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302 


ATLANTIS   AEISEN. 


ImM 


advantages  enjoyed  by  its  neighbors,  and  just  beyond  is  Meeker, 
the  junction  of  the  Seattle  branch.  Lime-Kiln  is  what  its 
name  implies,  and  then  we  have  Orting, — "the  Queen  of  the 
Puyallup  Valley," — "an  agricultural,  business,  and  railroad 
centre."  It  is  quite  that,  unless  appearances  deceive  us.  I 
have  already  spoken  of  the  railroad  being  built  by  the  St.  Paul 
and  Tacoma  Lumber  Company  south  from  Orting.  A  few 
miles  beyond  are  roads  branching  off  from  the  main  line  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  to  Carbondale  and  Wilkeson.  All  these  roads 
bring  business  to  Orting,  and  so  do  the  logging-camps  and  the 
farms  round  about.  It  has,  besides,  a  saw-mill,  chair-factory, 
and  railroad  shops,  and,  in  short,  seems  likely  to  take  care  of  its 
future,  although  but  an  infant  in  years. 

At  the  head  of  the  Valley  is  WilUeson,  where  the  first  coal- 
mines of  the  Northern  Pacific  were  opened.  I  have  spoken  in 
a  general  manner  of  the  coal  deposits  of  Washington,  but  will 
quote  a  paragraph  or  two  from  W.  H.  Ruffner,  LL.D.,  on  the 
Puyallup  Mines :  "  There  are,  however,  only  three  collieries  at 
work  in  this  group.  One  is  called  the  Carbonado  Mines,  which 
are  on  Carbon  River.  Three  miles  north,  a  little  east,  are  the 
famous  Wilkeson  Mines ;  and  two  miles  northwest  of  Wilkeson 
are  the  South  Prairie  Mines,  on  South  Prairie  Creek. 

"  There  are  some  diflferences  in  the  coal  at  the  three  mines. 
That  at  South  Prairie  was  sold  chiefly  for  making  gas.  The 
best  of  the  Wilkeson  coal  is  made  into  coke,  and  is  in  demand 
beyond  the  supply.  The  price  is  seven  dollars  a  ton  at  the 
ovens.  The  entire  product  of  the  Carbonado  Mines  is  said  to 
go  to  the  Central  Pacific  Railway." 

Ruffper's  opinion  of  this  group  of  mines  is  rather  unfavorable, 
on  the  whole.  "  To  all  appearance  the  amount  of  coal  here  is 
not  large,  and  the  beds  are  sadly  faulted,  and  pitch  deep  into  the 
ground."  It  is  comforting  to  know  that,  so  large  an  area  as  the 
whole  eastern  shore  of  the  Sound  and  the  Chehalis  Valley  being 
xinderlaid  with  coal,  there  will  be  some  left  when  this  group  fails. 

Wilkeson  is  a  pretty  nook  at  the  very  extremity  of  the  Valley, 
where  I  fared  well  and  had  a  pleasant  chat  with  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  mine,  after  which  I  returned  to  Puyallup  to  take 
the  train  for  Seattle. 


eeker, 
at   its 
of  the 
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us.    I 
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A  few 
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rst  coal- 
)oken  in 
but  will 
,  on  the 
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the  Valley, 
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THE   QUEEN   CITY   AND   ITS   DEPENDENCIES. 


303 


CHAPTEE   XXIV. 


THE   QUEEN    CITY  AND    ITS   DEPENDENCIES. 


There  is  little  diiference  in  the  aspect  of  the  country  as  we 
proceed  north  through  the  basin  described  in  the  foregoing 
chapter.  Sumner,  named  after  the  statesman  Charles  Sumner, 
is  a  small  and  p~,  tty  town  in  the  midst  of  hop-fields.  Slaughter, 
a  little  further  on,  is  in  a  rich  agricultural  region,  and  ap- 
pears to  be  prosperous.  It  is  named  after  Lieutenant  W.  A. 
Slaughter,  who  was  killed  in  this  vicinity  by  Indians  during 
tho  war  of  1855.  Kent  is  a  place  of  considerable  importance, 
about  one  hour's  travel  from  Tacoma.  There  are  fine  woods 
all  along,  and  hills  in  sight  on  one  side  or  the  other,  show- 
ing that  the  valleys  of  the  streams  are  narrow  as  they  are  rich. 
A  little  distance  beyond  Kent  is  Orillia,  also  in  a  good  farming 
country. 

Black  River,  full  in  spring-time,  winds  among  meadows  valu- 
able for  large  hay-crops.  Hyde  Park  is  a  suburb  of  Seattle, 
and  seems  given  up  to  brickmaking  at  present,  brick  being  in 
demand  since  the  great  fire  which  swept  Seattle  on  the  6th 
of  June,  1889.  From  Hyde  Park  to  the  city  is  a  continuous 
suburban  town.  Indeed,  the  continuous  settlements  from  the 
Puyallup  to  Elliot  Bay  sti'uck  me  with  surprise,  knowing  how 
recently  towns  began  to  appear  upon  the  maps  of  this  thickly- 
wooded  region. 

A  dozen  years  ago  I  was  in  Seattle,  and  thought  it  the  ugliest 
of  places, — thought,  in  fuct,  that  it  would  bo  impossible  to  re- 
deem it  from  ugliness.  The  hills,  rising  sharply  from  the  water- 
fi'ont,"  which  was  narrow  and  disfigured  with  rude  structures, 
were  roughly  terraced  with  streets  running  parallel  to  the  bay, 
and  which  were  cut  at  right  angles  by  other  streets,  steep  and 
by  no  means  smooth,  seemed  to  present  hopeless  obstacles  to 
the  development  of  beauty.  Long  before  the  summit  of  the 
ridge  was  reached  the  uncleared  forest  began,  hemming  in  the 
town  between  water  and  woods.  Along  the  business  front  was 
a  mass  of  sawdust,  the  accumulation  of  many  years,  in  which 


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304 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


the  pedestrian's  feet  sank,  and  which  the  tides  kept  water-soaked, 
the  only  attractive  feature  of  the  place  being  some  wonderfully 
large,  broad-leaved  maple-trees,  growing  down  at  the  south  end 
of  the  water-front  with  their  roots  in  the  bay,  and  which,  alas! 
are  no  longer  to  be  seen.  In  truth,  there  was  little  in  the 
Seattle  of  1890  to  remind  one  of  what  had  been. 

What  I  saw,  in  place  of  the  former  tovvn,  was  a  city  of  fine 
proportions  spread  over  a  smooth  slope,  and  extending  not  only 
to  the  summit  of  the  hills,  but  out  of  sight  bej-ond,  with  lines 
of  cable  and  electric  cars  traversing  the  streets  in  every  direction, 
a  solid  front  of  docks  and  wharves  where  shipping  lay,  or  came 
and  went  with  the  houvs,  and  which  had  altogether  the  most 
metropolitan  look  of  any  city  in  the  Northwest. 

Seattle  is  not,  like  Tacoma,  a  new  town.  It  was  founded  in 
1852,  by  D.  S.  Maynard,  C.  D.  Boren,  A.  A.  Denny,  and  W.  N. 
Bell,  who  took  claims  side  by  side  on  the  shore  of  the  bay. 
Henry  L.  Yesler  was  admitted  to  the  company  the  same  year, 
and  built  the  mill  whose  sawdust  helped  to  fill  in  the  city's 
front,  as  aforesaid.  It  was  to  Yesler's  saw-mill  more  than 
anything  that  the  town  was  indebted  for  its  growth,  this  being 
the  first  mill  to  establish  a  lumber  trade  with  San  Francisco. 
Its  mess-house  was  a  place  of  general  rendezvous  for  travellers 
up  and  down  the  Sound  for  more  than  one  decade.  Around 
its  rude  but  hospitable  board,  and  about  its  ample  hearth  piled 
high  with  blazing  fir-slabs,  were  recounted  the  many  strange 
adventures  which  befell  the  numerous  guests,  inclading  volun- 
teer Indian  fighters,  naval  officers,  judges  of  the  courts,  and 
shipmasters.    . 

The  founders  of  Seattle  belonged  to  that  class  of  men  born 
to  follow  the  beckoning  of  the  star  of  empire  in  its  westward 
orbit.  Talk  about  Columbus  discovering  a  new  world  I  What 
was  his  voyage  to  the  months  of  dreary  marching  across  the 
continent,  the  setting  out  from  Portland,  then  a  cluster  of  rude 
cabins,  in  a  sailing-vessel  for  the  Sound,  and  the  disembarkation 
upon  an  uninhabited  shore,  in  the  midst  of  a  November  storm, 
of  women,  children,  and  household  goods!  When  they  were 
landed,  after  many  hours  of  labor,  "  the  women  sat  down  and 
cried,"  says  one  of  their  chi'oniclers.  Alas,  how  often  women's 
tears  bedew  the  earth  which  brings  forth  plentifully  of  its  riches 


THE  QUEEN   CITY   AND   ITS   DEPENDENCIES. 


305 


in 


for  husbands  and  sons,  but  not  for  Ihem,  their  strengtli  being 
spent!     -    ,:'-;>'>'"->■■■   :■■>'"»-:■•  ; '•    ■•--  ;    •  >  r.^v ,  ■ 
'  The  place  where  the  pioneers  of  Seattle  first  landed  was  on 
the  west  side  of  the  peninsula  which  encloses  Elliot  Bay,  and 


MAP   OF   SEATTLE    AND    HARBOR. 


this  point  they  called  by  the  Indian  word  Alki,  which  signifies 
"  by  and  by."  Here  was  laid  out  a  town,  called  New  York  ; 
but  a  chief  of  the  Duamish  tribe  of  Indians  informing  them 
during  the  winter  of  a  pass  in  the  mountains  to  the  east,  and 
other  matters  of  interest,  they  decided  to  remove  to  the  main- 
land, and,  in  acknowledgment  of  the  services  of  this  chief, 
named  the  future  city  after  him — Seattle.  Among  the  West 
Washington  tribes  was  a  superstition  that  if  the  name  of  a  dead 

20 


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306 


ATf.ANTIH   ARISEN. 


])or80n  were  Kpukoii  the  spirit  would  bo  <Us' '.irbed.  This  super- 
(stition  afforded  Scuttle  a  pretext  for  doinanding  pay  while  yet 
alive  for  the  discomfort  the  frequent  sound  of  his  name  would 
cause  him  after  ileal h,  and  thereafter  bo  became  a  pensioner  on 
the  bounty  of  the  Seattleites. 

The  New  York  of  Alki  Point,  like  all  the  many  namesakes  of 
the  great  metropolis,  came  to  nothing,  and  was  forgotten  until 
very  -recently  speculators  bought  up  the  land  and  laid  out 
West  Seattle,  since  which  period  many  improvements  have  been 
iiuide,  with  a  railroad  connecting  the  peninsula  with  the  city  on 
the  maijdand.  The  i>rowth  of  Seattle  was  slow  so  long  as  there 
were  no  railroads  in  the  country,  and  the  commerce  of  the 
Sound  was  confined  chiefly  to  an  export  trade  with  Cal'^  lia 
in  lumber  and  coal,  with  some  cai-goes  of  lumber  to  n 

ports.  In  1870  the  whole  exports  of  Puget  Sound  in  foreign 
and  American  vessels  amounted  to  four  hundred  and  forty  thou- 
sand nine  hundred  and  fifteen  dollars,  the  largest  part  of  which 
was  in  lumber.  The  imports  from  foreign  countries  were  light, 
amounting  to  only  thirty-three  thousand  one  hundred  and  five 
dollars.  Ship-building  added  something  to  the  business  of  the 
Sound,  but  the  spell  of  loneliness  which  brooded  over  these  silent 
shores  had  not  then  been  broken,  except  by 

?'  "  The  first  low  wash  of  waves,  where  soon 

.'  .  Should  roll  a  human  sea." 

Then  came  the  promise  of  a  transcontinental  railroad,  and  then 
the  road  itself  Presto,  change !  Up  went  business  houses  and 
dwellings,  with  improvements  of  every  kind.  In  1880  the  pop- 
ulation of  this  tweuty-eight-year-old  town  was  three  thousand 
five  hundred ;  in  1888,  one  year  after  the  railroad  had  crossed 
the  Cascades,  it  was  twenty  thousand  ;  in  1889,  when  over  seven 
million  dollars'  worth  of  property  was  destroyed  by  fire,  it  was 
twenty-seven  thousand ;  and  in  1890  it  is,  according  to  the  census, 
forty-one  thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty-four.  No  wonder 
that  to  repair  the  damages  by  fire,  and  to  provide  shelter  for  so 
rapid  an  influx  of  people,  the  streets  are  obstructed  with  lumber, 
brick,  stone,  and  iron,  while  many  tent-cloth  houses  are  yet  to 
be  seen.  Order  is,  however,  in  the  main  restored,  and,  as  I  have 
said,  the   city  has  a   metropolitan   aspect,  jjarticularly  when 


THE   QUEEN   CITY   AND   ITS   DEPENDENCIES. 


307 


n 


viewed  from  the  bay,  which  belongs  to  no  other  town  on  the 
Sound. 

Seattle,  like  all  towns  in  their  formative  periods,  was,  and 
still  is,  a  combination  of  the  now  and  beautiful  with  the  de- 
caying and  grotesque,  although  the  great  conflagration  was  of 
service  in  wiping  out  much  of  the  latter,  as  well  as  in  intro- 
ducing even  more  largely  the  former.  As  it  stands  to  day  it 
contains  hundreds  of  buildings  which  would  be  a  credit  to  any 
city  in  the  United  States  for  grand  proportions  and  grace  of 
outline.  The  Hotel  Rainier  and  Hotel  Denny  aro  built  upon 
the  heights,  with  magnificent  views  on  every  side,  themselves 
constituting  a  part  of  that  pic  -ing  tout  ensemble  presented  from 
the  approach  by  water. 

Like  Tacoma,  Seattle  has  extended  its  suburbs  in  all  direc- 
tions. It  is  a  saying  that  the  two  cities  meet  halfway,  in  spite 
of  their  confesned  rivalry.  North,  the  street  railways  carry 
you  to  Queen  Anne  Town,  the  fashionable  quarter ;  Oilman's 
Ad'iition,  the  terminal  centre  of  three  railroads ;  Ballard,  another 
addition  just  being  put  on  the  market,  on  Salmon  Bay ;  Bay 
View  Addition,  on  Salmon  Bay ;  Kilbourne's  Division,  on  Green 
Lake;  Tremont,  on  Lake  Wasliington.  East,  to  Bryn  Mawr 
Park,  on  the  west  shore  of  this  lake;  Boston  Heights,  on  the 
summit  of  the  elevation  between  Elliot  Bay  and  Lake  Wash- 
ington, to  Green's  addition,  and  Summit  addition,  and  I  do  not 
know  how  many  more.  A  ferry  carries  you  to  West  Seattle, 
where  a  company  with  half  a  million  is  making  improvements, 
as  before  mentioned. 

In  none  of  these  places  do  you  find  the  view  lacking  in  inter- 
est, whether  you  aro  thinking  of  the  wonders  of  nature  or  the 
works  of  men :  both  are  horo  worthy  of  attention.  West 
Seattle  sits  upon  a  high  sandy  point,  which  having  once  attained, 
you  have  water  on  every  side  except  the  southern,  a  city  on  the 
east.  Port  Blakely  mills,  the  largest  in  the  world,  the  smoke 
of  whose  burning  sawdust  ascendeth  forever,  and  serves  as  a 
beacon  on  the  Sound,  is  a  little  north  of  west ;  and  Port,  Orch- 
ard, the  newly-selected  site  of  the  United  States  navy  yard,  is 
a  little  south  of  west. 

But  transferring  yourself  to  Seattle,  and  taking  a  cable-car  to 
Boston  Heights,  here  again  you  have  a  water-view  on  both  sides 


i  I  i 


;  , 


308 


ATI<ANTIS  ARISEN. 


of  you,  but  how  different !  The  city  is  at  your  feet,  to  and  from 
whOi'G  busy  wharves  aU  sorts  of  water-craft  are  darting  and 
departing,  while  the  west  shore  of  the  bay.  Port  Blake'.y  and 
other  headlands  receding  melt  into  a  dim  distance  bounded  by 
the  01ynii)ic  Mountains.  On  the  oiher  hand,  Lake  Washington 
lies  just  at  the  foot  of  the  eastern  slope,  with  green  islands  and 
wooded  shores,  and  Mount  Rainier,  towering  in  white,  eternai 
nuijeaty  above  tuis  Gumnier  landscape. 

The  lakes  about  Seattle,  .to  which  I  have  before  referred, 
never  ceased  to  be  interesting  to  nie  from  their  evident  physical 
history ;  at  the  same  time  they  are  very  pretty  from  a  scenic 
stand-point,  with  sloping  shores  admirably  ad;ipted  to  \illa  sites, 
for  which  they  are  being  rapidly  seized  upon.  Lake  Union  is 
small,  with  a  number  of  settlemei'ts  almost  ^-surrounding  it. 
There  are  throe  asthmatic  little  steamers  running  from  the  rail- 
way apprc.ch  to  Freuiont,  Edgwater,  Latona,  and  Green  Lake, 
on  its  borders.  Pleasure-boats  are  to  let,  and  a  dancing-hall 
furnishes  the  foreign  population  the  opportunity  of  the  wultz 
on  Sundays. 

A  small  canal,  which  it  has  been  Seattle's  ambition  to  have 
enlarged  by  the  government  into  a  ship-canal,  connects  Lakes 
Washington  and  Union  with  the  Sound.  Had  Cn^'ress  seen 
fit  to  undertake  this  not  very  expensive  work,  a  naval  station 
might  \eiy  well  have  been  located  here  wheiv  vessels  could  lie 
in  fresh  water,  and  doubtless  the  work  will  yet  be  perfn-med 
for  the  benefit  of  commerce,  vessels  lying  in  the  Sound  watt;vs 
becortiing  heavily  encrusted  with  barnacles.  The  teredo  is  very 
destructive  to  any  wood  iinmersi^d  in  the  Sound,  and  to  the 
supports  of  wharves,  which  frequently  succumb  to  its  ravages; 
hence  the  value  of  a  fiesh-water  harbor.  Port  Orchard  has 
several  streams  running  into  it  which  may  suffice  to  cure  this 
evil,  but  Lake  Washington  would  have  been  more  certain  to  be 
free  from  it. 

The  falls  of  the  Snoqualmie  (rndlan  Snoqualimich)  River 
having  frequentl}'  been  mentioned  to  me  as  highly  attractive,  I 
resolved  to  devote  a  day  to  an  excursion  along  the  line  of  the 
Seattle,  Lake  Shore  and  Eastern  Railroad,  whos3  western  end  is 
ia  Seattle  and  its  eastern  end  in  Spokane,  with  a  considerable 
hiatus  between.     I  found  the  following  stations  along  the  road 


THE   QUEEN   CITY   AND   ITS   DEPENDENCIES, 


309 


in  a  distance  of  about  forty  miles:  Boulevard,  Ballard  Junction, 
Ballard,  Eoss,  Fremont,  Edgwater,  Latona,  Eavenna  Park, 
Yesler  Junction,  Koilb,  Pontiac  (a  briclNinaldng  settlement) 
Maple  Leaf  (a  lumbering  establishment),  Terrence,  Wayne, 
Bothell,  Snohomish  Junction,  York,  Eedmond,  Peterson,  Ingle- 
wood,  Monovon,  Gilman,  Preston,  Falls  City,  Snoqualmie  Falls, 
Snoqualmie,  and  South  Bend, — or  a  station  every  mile  and  one- 
third  of  the  way, — which  would  lead  one  to  expect  a  populous 
country.  The  road  is,  however,  constructed  for  the  most  part 
through  an  uncleared  region,  the  whole  population  being  at 
these  several  recently-opened  settlements. 

Bothell  is  the  location  of  the  Huron  Jjumber  Com])any.  In- 
glewood  is  on  the  border  of  Sammamish  or  Squawk  Lake,  a 
beautiful  sheet  of  water  in  which  ihere  are  standing  submerged 
trees,  showing  subsidence  of  this  part  of  the  coal-basin.  Mono- 
von, also  on  this  lake,  is  a  picturesque  place,  which  with  the 
water  and  the  hill:^  has  quite  a  Swiss  aspect,  rjilman,  close  up 
to  the  mountains,  is  a  raw,  unpamted  settlement,  whose  promise 
of  future  improvement  lies  in  a  large  hop-field. 

The  Yallcy  is  evidently  very  rich  in  soil.  I  noted  some  won- 
derfully high  maple-trees  curiously  swathed  in  yellow  moss, 
and  alder-trees  of  great  growth  ana  beauty,  their  white  and 
gray  bark  mottled  with  splashes  of  light  green,  showing  clearly 
out  from  the  gloom  of  the  unbroken  forest. 

The  train  obligingly  stops  at  the  falls  to  give  ti'avellers  an 
opportunity  to  alight  and  enjoy  a  five-minute  view  of  the  cata- 
ract. This  is  a  very  delightful  "^ve  minutes,  which  I  prolonged 
into  a  naif-hour  by  walking  brick  from  the  next  station  before 
the  train  returned.  The  height  of  the  fall  is  two  hundred  and 
sixty-eight  feet.  The  stream  descends  on  either  side  of  a 
dividing  island  of  rock,  as  at  Niagara.  On  the  east  side  of  the 
rock  it  is  projected  in  two  separate  strands,  which  gyrate  at 
the  Hiurt  and  twist  together  as  steam  comes  out  of  a  locomotive- 
pipe.  The  effect  is  to  throw  the  water  into  garln  is  of  foam 
which,  falling  upon  one  another  and  being  projected  a  long  dis- 
tance out,  appear  heaped  up  rather  than  falling.  On  the  west 
side  the  water,  dashed  into  foam,  descends  in  two  other  streams 
— one  fan-shaped — Avhich,  uniting  half-way  down,  turn  and  join 
the  main  stream  in  one  mass  of  feathery  foam.    The  mist  blown 


r 


310 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


i     ' 


over  to  the  east  side  of  the  chasm  gives  a  fine  rainbow.  The 
condensation  ibrms  numerous  rills  on  the  ftice  of  the  almost  per- 
pendicular walls,  which  descend  like  threads  of  silver  over  the 
vividly  green  masses.  There  are  rapids  above  and  below  the 
fall,  and  higher  up  the  stream  another  cataract  one  hundred 
and  twenty  ieet  in  height,  the  Indian  name  of  which  is  Topan. 
In  short,  the  Snoqualmie  is  a  mountain  stream  above  here,  with 
a  rapid  current  and  jagged  bed,  and  abounds  in  good  fishing,  as 
the  woods  do  in  game.         '  ^ 

At  Snoqualmie  Station,  where  we  dined,  is  a  comfortable  and 
pleasantlj'-situated  summer  hotel.  Here  the  Hop-Growers'  As- 
sociation owns  eleven  hundred  acres,  three  hundred  and  ten  of 
which  is  in  hops  this  season.  The  production  of  this  farm  is 
from  eighteen  hundred  to  two  thousand  pounds  per  acre.  Fruit 
and  root  crops  are  successfully  cultivated  at  Snoqualmie,  giving 
evidence  of  what  may  be  expected  from  the  "Valley  in  the  futui*e. 
I  met  a  lady  and  her  daughter  going  down  to  Seattle  to  witness 
the  graduation  of  a  daughter  and  a  sister  from  some  institution 
in  the  city,  and  who  lived  on  a  farm  higher  up  the  Valley,  with 
which  they  appeared  to  be  well  satisfied. 

I  returned  to  the  city  In  time  to  note  from  my  hotel  win- 
dows a  charming  evening  scene :  the  Bay  dotted  with  sail-boats, 
steamers  coming  and  going,  a  fine  veil  of  mist  overhanging  the 
Sound,  the  sun  setting  in  a  sea  of  golden  cloud,  from  which 
flakes  of  gold  foil  off  and  floated  away  along  the  horizon.  The 
level  rays  of  departing  day  bring  out  the  headland  opposite 
with  every  building  outlined,  the  surface  of  the  Sound  resem- 
bling for  roughness  a  Canton  crepe  in  pale  blue,  creased  with  the 
wakes  of  various  water-craft,  completed  the  first  effect ;  then 
suddenly  the  heavens  were  flushed  with  a  rosy  radiance  which 
was  reflected  from  the  placid  water  beneath,  as  if  the  day 
should  kiss  the  earth  good-night  and  blush  in  doing  it.  I 
thought  about  the  Montana  lady  I  had  met  in  Tacoma,  and 
hoped  she  was  enjoying  the  picture  as  she  was  capable  of  doing. 

The  subject  which  absorbs  most  of  the  business  brain  of  the 
Northwest,  whether  it  be  in  Tucoma,  Seattle,  or  some  of  the 
ocean  ports,  is  how  to  obtain  control  of  the  trade  of  the  Orient. 
A  glance  at  the  map  shows  us  that  so  far  as  location  is  con- 


THE   QUEEN   CITY  AND   ITS   DEPENDENCIES. 


311 


corned  there  is  little  difference.  Seattle  is  a  couple  of  hours 
nearer  to  the  Straits  than  Tacoma.  But  Tacoma,  if  time  be- 
comes an  object,  can  make  a  short  cut  through  Gray's  Harbor, 
and  so  also  could  Seattle.  T^"3refore,  supposing  the  latter  to 
have  secured  what  Tacoma  has,  a  direct  transcoiitinentt.1  rail- 
road, the  chances  are  so  nearly  even  as  to  make  the  most  saga- 
cious decline  to  venture  a  prediction. 

Merchants  will  toll  3'ou  in  a  general  way  that  the  trade  of 
China  amounts  to  one  hundred  and  thirty  million  dollars  annu- 
ally, that  it  is  only  in  its  infancy,  and  that  it  is  principaliy  ini 
tiie  hands  of  Great  Britain,  but  that  the  Pacific  Coast  of  the 
United  States  must  compete  so  strongly  for  it  as  to  divert  it  to 
itself.  They  will  tell  you  that  in  twenty-five  years  China  will 
have  a  trade  hundreds  of  millions  greater  than  at  present,  be- 
cause the  empire  will  then  be  thrown  open  by  railroads  and 
rapid  transportation  generally  to  commercial  operations.  The 
Chinese  will  consume  American  wheat  (which  they  are  begin- 
ning to  do  now),  wares,  and  manuiiaetures.  T')Osides  <his  market 
for  our  productions,  the  ve  ulso  to  be  considered  the  fif^y- 
seven  millions  of  people  who  inhabit  those  parts  of  Asia  wMch 
approach  this  continent  more  nearly,  as  Japan,  Mam  houria, 
Mongolia,  and  Siberia.  To  supply  mose  people  from  Europe  by 
the  present  route  and  means  of  travel  md  tran>^-.>rtation  re- 
quires, we  are  told,  caravans  numbering  thirty-six  t)  ousand 
camels  and  bullocks  and  one  hundred  thousand  horses. 

This  state  of  affairs  cannot  be  permitted  t"  continue  in  this 
the  nineteenth  century!  and  the  question  is  seriously  asked, 
"Who  is  to  have  control  of  this  vast  trade?"  and  as  seriously 
answered,  America.  Why?  Because  America  h.;^  .e  capital, 
material,  energy,  and  pluck  to  obtain  it.  That  i  .it  conceded, 
the  next  one  of  importance  is  that  of  distance,  and  Seattle  is 
nine  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty  miles  nearer  to  the  Amoor 
River  than  Liverpool.  It  is  twelve  hundred  miles  nearer  Singa- 
pore, three  thousand  five  hundred  nearer  Canton,  six  thousand 
nearer  Shanghai,  and  eight  thousand  miles  nearer  Vladivostok 
than  is  Liverpool. 

But  that  is  not  all.  Seattle  is  five  hundred  miles  nearer 
Vladivostok  than  San  Francisco  is,  three  hundred  and  fifty 
nearer  Shanghai,  three  hundred  nearer  Canton,  and  three  hun- 


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312 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


dred  nearer  Singapore.  It  has  aho  slightly  the  advantage  over 
Portland  in  some  of  these  distances,  and  very  sliglitly  over 
Tacoma."  It  has  nothing,  then,  to  fear  in  the  matter  of  distance 
except  from  some  port  upon  the  coast  either  of  Washington  or 
British  Columbia.  And  here  comes  in  the  consideration  of 
latitude  and  productions,  which  are  in  favor  of  Washington. 

These  are  weighty  topics  to  discuss  in  a  railway  or  drawing- 
room  conversation,  yet  one  hears  them  everywhere.  And  they 
arc  stirring  themes,  too,  when  we  remember  that  Jefferson  and 
IJenton  discussed  them  in  the  early  part  of  the  century,  and  the 
nation  has  been  moving  westward  on  the  chosen  line  ever  since. 
Just  what  point  will  secure  the  prize  of  pre-eminence  is  not  for 
ine  to  prophesy.  Besides,  the  country  is  so  vast  and  so  rich  in 
resources  that  there  is  room  fur  all  to  grow  and  prosper.  So 
let  us  leave  the  future  to  reveal  itself,  and  comment  upon  Seattle 
as  it  now  is. 

The  volume  of  jobbing  trade  for  Seattle  in  1889  is  variously 
estimated  at  from  seventeen  million  dollars  to  twenty  million 
dollars.  The  confusion  in  business  incident  to  the  fire  prevents 
a  closer  estimate.  Seattle  merchants  carry  largo  stocks  of  all 
kinds  v^f  merchandise,  although  the  tendency  now  is  to  separate 
wholesale  and  retail  business,  and  to  segregate  merchandise  into 
special  lines.  Retail  trade  is  not  dependent,  as  in  other  States, 
upon  the  coming  in  of  certain  crops.  June  furnishes  a  heavy 
hay  crop  and  garden  stuff.  The  immense  wheat  crop  begins  to 
move  in  August;  hops  in  f-^;  jjiember;  potatoes  in  October;  fruit 
in  its  proper  seasons,  from  June  to  October;  lumber  and  coal  at 
all  times ;  and  cattle  and  dairy  products  during  most  of  the  year. 

Manufactures  are  quite  numerous  in  Seattle,  but  are  stiil  lack- 
ing in  many  things.  Previous  to  ■:he  fire  it  had  ten  saw-mills, 
whose  plants  cost  four  million  dollars,  and  tributary  to  it,  within 
a  radius  of  thirty-five  miles,  seven  great  milling  establishments. 
It  had  ship-yards ;  several  sash-  and  door-factories ;  shingle-, 
barrel-,  and  fui-niture-factories ;  brick -yards  and  tile-factories; 
carriage-factories;  four  breweries;  toundries,  brass  and  iron, 
and  boiler-works ;  soda-works ;  and  fifty  other  kinds  of  loan- 
ufactures.  The  capital  employed  in  factories  in  1880  was 
$G,285,000,  and  the  value  of  production  $10,407,488.  It  is  men- 
tioned in  the  press  of  Seattle  that  there  is  room  for  a  large 


•TTiTT^^f^-^-^T^" 


THE   QUEEN   CITY   AND   ITS   DEPENDENCIES. 


313 


tannery  and  boot-  and  shoe-factory;  for  a  woodenware-  and 
willow  ware-factory :  for  powder  works;  for  two  flouring  mills, 
and  for  wholesale  houses  dealing  in  men's  furnishing  goods,  in 
hats,  in  paints,  oils,  glass,  drugs,  stationery,  millinery,  and  gen- 
eral machinery,  as  specialties.  This  gives  a  better  idea  of  the 
condition  of  trade  than  an  enumeration  of  business  firms. 
Seattle  has  eleven  banks, — not  as  many  as  Taeoma  by  two  or 
Portland  by  five, — with  an  aggregate  capital  of  about  four  mil- 
lion dollars  and  deposits  amounting  to  nearly  six  million  dollars. 

The  coal-mines  of  King  County  which  are  tributary  to  Seattle 
are  the  Franklin,  Black  Diamond,  Cedar  Mountain,  Newcastle, 
Gilman,  and  Durham.  Their  total  output  for  1889  was  three 
hundred  and  ninety-one  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty-three 
tons.  There  was  a  suspension  of  production  for  a  couple  of 
months  while  the  coal-bunkers  destroyed  in  the  fire  were  being 
rebuilt,  which  lessened  the  amount.  The  present  facilities  will 
enable  the  companies  to  receive  and  discharg^i  two  million  tons 
a  year. 

It  is  in  contemplation  to  erect  iron-  and  steel-works  at  Kirk- 
land,  on  Lake  Washington,  which  will  employ  one  thousand 
men,  a  company  having  already  been  formed  for  that  purpose, 
with  a  capital  of  two  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
The  ore  is  to  be  obtained  from  the  Denny  Mines  in  the  vicinity. 
The  manufjxcture  of  railroad  material  will  be  carried  on  in  con- 
nection with  the  iron-works. 

From  these  items,  putting  that  and  that  together,  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  Seattle  is  no  bubble  which  a  pin-prick  will  cause  to 
collapse,  and  that  a  century  hence  it  will  be  here  with  added 
area,  wealth,  dignity,  and  history. 

Speaking  of  history  reminds  me  to  give  a  leaf  out  of  Seattle's 
past.  It  is  not  about  the  siege  of  the  town  by  the  Dwamish 
and  other  Indians  in  1856,  when  a  stockade  was  built  with  Mr. 
Yesler's  lumber  to  protect  the  settlement,  and  when  Captain 
Gansevoort,  of  the  United  States  ship-of-war,  which  was  fortu- 
nately in  the  harbor,  came  to  their  relief,  together  with  the  terri- 
torial authoriiies,  but  concerns  a  period  about  ten  years  later. 

The  want  of  Washington  during  the  territorial  times  was 
women ;  excepting  the  families  of  the  original  pioneers,  few 
had  come  to  settle  here,  the  majority  of  men  who  had  drifted 


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314 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


to  Puget  Sound  from  the  Fraser  Eiver  Mines,  or  by  soa,  being 
unmarried.  This  condition  of  society  resulted  in  the  union 
of  Indian  women  with  white  men,  and  the  degradation  of  the 
latter.  It  was  suggested  to  Governor  Pickering  that  it  would 
bo  a  philanthropic  action  to  furnish  the  white  bachelor  popu- 
lation of  Washington  with  wives  from  among  the  widows 
and  dauirhters  of  soldiers  killed  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion. 
The  man  selected  or  permitted  to  take  charge  of  the  enterprise 
was  Asa  S.  Mercer,  of  Seattle,  who,  armed  with  a  certificate  of 
character,  rej)aired  to  Washington,  D.C.,  with  the  intention  of 
appealing  for  aid  to  President  Lincoln,  but  arrived  on  the  day  of 
his  assassination,  which  seemed  to  put  an  end  to  the  undertaking. 

However,  ho  then  formed  an  immigration  scheme  of  his  own 
and  secured  contracts  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  young  women, 
and  as  many  families,  to  take  them  to  Washington  and  guaran- 
tee them  employment  at  good  wages,  on  the  payment  to  him  in 
advance  of  a  certain  amount  of  passage-money.  He  made  terms 
with  a  steamship  company,  and,  instead  of  notifying  all  those 
who  had  contracted  with  him,  set  sail  for  Puget  Sound  with 
half  the  number,  leaving  the  remainder  to  their  vain  regrets. 
For  this  violation  of  trust  he  was  sued  in  the  Superior  Court  of 
New  York,  which  decided  it  had  no  jurisdiction,  and  his  victims 
were  left  without  redress.  As  for  the  seventy-five  young  women 
who  reached  this  coast,  an  Immigrant  Aid  Society  had  been 
organized  to  provide  homes  and  employment  for  them,  and  they 
disappeared  like  morning  dew  before  the  sun,  being  too  few  to 
create  much  of  a  change  in  Washington  society  or  morals. 

In  this  city,  where  such  a  movement  was  possible  twenty-five 
years  ago,  there  arc  now  forty-three  church  organizations, — and 
we  all  know  that  churches  consist  chiefly  of  women, — with  over 
eight  thousand  communicants.  Sermons  are  preached  in  tho 
English,  German,  Swedish,  Norwegian,  Danish,  and  Welsh  lan- 
guages, and  sixteen  denominations  are  represented.  Haifa  million 
dollars  is  to  be  expended  this  year  in  fifteen  new  church  edifices. 

Seattle  has  four  daily  and  several  weekly  newspapers,  of 
which  the  Post- Intelligencer  and  the  Seattle  Press  are  the  princi- 
pal ones.  The  State  University  is  located  here,  and  in  the  heart 
of  the  city.  Its  endowment  being  inadequate  to  its  needs,  a 
movement  is  on  foot  to  sell  the  ground,  and  with  the  proceeds 


llti-.!- 


THE   QUEEN   CITY   AND    ITS   DEPENDENCIES, 


315 


erect  better  buildings  farther  from  the  centre  of  the  town,  and 
with  the  remainder  enlarge  the  endowment.  There  is  a  hirgo 
Chautauqua  circle  here,  and  the  society  owns  property  on 
Vashon  Island,  near  Taconia,  where  it  holds  its  annual  meeting. 
A  Young  Men's  Secretarial  Institute  also  owns  twenty  acres 
adjoining  the  Chautauqua-plat,  which  is  about  establishing  a 
training-school  and  gymnasium,  with  ball  ground,  boating-club, 
and  a  variety  of  physical-development  accessories. 

This  institute  consists  in  the  first  place  of  the  secretaries  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  throughout  the  North- 
west, and  the  stock  is  sold  only  to  active  members  of  the  asso- 
ciations. They  will  have  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  with 
which  to  make  improvements  in  1891.  The  two  organizations 
promise  to  be  helpful  to  each  other,  and  together  will  make 
Vaslion  Island  a  popular  summer  resort.  The  institute  has 
already  published  among  its  rules  that  "  boiled  shirts"  are  not 
admissible  ;  polished  shoes  only  admissible  on  Sundays ;  no  study 
to  be  allowed  in  afternoons ;  the  hours  of  sleep  to  extend  from 
ten  o'c  n  the  evening  to  seven  in  the  morning.    The  last  of 

theso  fo..r  rules  may  wisely  balance  the  effect  of  the  first  three. 

The  common  schools  of  Seattle  are  of  a  high  order,  and  the  city 
has  erected  handsome  structures  for  their  accommodation.  The 
city  supports  an  Orphans'  Homo  and  three  hospitals,  Provi- 
dence Hospital  being  the  la ■  i^est  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  The 
charitable  orders  are  numerous,  as  in  other  ciiies. 


The  tourist  has  a  choice  in  departing  from  Seattle  of  steamboat 
or  railway  service.  The  railroads  going  out  of  the  city  are  the 
Puget  Sound  Shore  line  to  Puyallup,  where  it  connects  with  the 
Northern  Pacific,  and  through  that  road  with  the  Union  Pacific, 
or  O.  E.  and  N.  Eailroad,  and  the  Southern  Pacific,  or  Oregon 
and  California  Railroad.  The  Seattle,  Lake  Shore  and  Eastern 
Eailroad  I  have  already  referred  to.  This  is  an  extensive  sys- 
tem, only  partially  completed.  The  Snoqualmie  branch  on  which 
I  travelled  opens  up  coal  and  iron  fields  in  that  region,  and  is 
eighty  miles  in  length.  Another  branch,  one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  in  length,  known  as  the  Seattle  and  West  Coast 
Eailroad,  will  connect  with  the  Canadian  Pacific,  making  Seattle 
one  of  its  terminals.     When  completed  the  main  line  will  cross 


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316 


ATLAXTIS   AKISEX. 


the  Cascades  by  Civdy's  Pass,  at  the  head  of  the  SkoUomish  or 
north  fork  of  the  Snoqualmie  Eiver,  and  join  the  eastern  division 
west  of  Spokane.  The  Cohimbia  and  Puget  Sound  Railroad  is 
a  narrow-gauge  lino  connecting  Seattle  with  the  Newcastle, 
Cedar  River,  and  Green  River  coal-fields,  by  a  system  of  branches 
aggregating  sixty  miles,  and  sustains  an  enormous  traffic.  Its 
ultimate  destination  is  tlie  Columbia  River  at  Wallula.  Of  lines 
projected  but  not  built,  the  Seattle  Southern  is  to  run  from 
West  Seattle  direct  to  Portland,  to  connect  with  the  Southern 
Pacific  system.  Thus  the  Queen  City  looks  to  being  the  ter- 
minus of  three,  if  not  five,  transcontinental  rouds. 

It  seems  the  intention  to  make  West  Seattle  tenninal  ground 
for  several  roads,  the  initiative  being  given  in  the  organization 
of  a  West  Seattle  Terminal  and  Elevator  Company,  which  is  to 
build  on  trestles  across  the  bay  at  its  southern  end,  and  erect 
wheat-elevators  on  the  bluff  shore.  The  height  of  the  elevator 
above  the  fioor  of  the  warehouse,  which  is  one  hundred  and 
twenty  by  five  hundred  and  thirteen  feet  ground  area,  is  one 
hundred  and  twenty  feet.  It  will  have  a  capacity  of  seventy 
thousand  bushels,  and  the  warehouse  of  one  million.  A  ship- 
dock  twelve  hundred  feet  long  will  be  constructed,  with  over 
five  thousand  feet  of  side-tracks  and  other  facilities  for  receiving 
and  discharging  grain,  the  whole  to  cost  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars. 

A  belt-line  railroad  around  Lake  Washington  is  reporteil  pro- 
jected, to  be  built  by  the  Lake  Shore  and  Eastern  and  Nf)rthern 
Pacific.  The  Northern  Pacific,  it  will  be  observed,  is  at  the 
bottom  of  most  of  the  greatest  enterprises  in  the  Evergreen 
State.  The  Union  Pacific  Avould  willingly  enter  into  competition, 
but  circumstances  have  not  been  favorable  in  the  Puget  Sound 
region,  where  it  is  confined  to  the  control  of  the  leased  steam- 
boats of  the  Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  Company,  but 
will  construct  in  the  near  future  a  line  from  Tacoma  to  Olympia 
and  Gray's  Harbor,  and,  if  we  may  believe  rumor,  several  other 
lines.  But  it  is  not  for  me  to  say  what  railroad  companies  will 
do;  there  is  more  certainty  about  what  they  have  done,  a  part 
of  their  policy  being  to  puzzle  the  public  about  their  intentions 
until  they  have  secured  whatever  portion  of  "  the  earth"  seems 
to  promise  the  largest  harvest.    Railroads  are  tricksy  things. 


1 


THE  QUEEN   CITY   A-ND   ITS   DEPENDENCIES. 


317 


It  is  only  on  great  watoi'-ways  like  the  Columbia  or  the  Sound 
that  one  feels  the  bounty,  the  beauty,  and  the  peace  of  the  fi*ee 
gifts  of  God.  Such  a  highway  is  always  at  the  door  of  those 
mediterranean  cities.  Upon  it  may  float  a  palace  or  a  plunger. 
Let  us  take  something  intermediate  and  visit  some  of  Seattle's 
outlying  territories.        '■■•■•.  '  j  :    ."  ■  i  ;':i  :     ;•  „      >.,<,^   j'vi.-  •> 

The  first  of  these  may  be  said  to  come  under  the  head  of  saw- 
mills, and  to  give  an  idea  of  the  importance  of  these  to  the 
State  of  Washington,  let  me  borrow  some  figures  from  the  Post- 
Intelligencer  for  January  1,  1890,  showing  the  number  of  feet  of 
lumber  cut  in  the  State  for  the  previous  year.         .^^  .  ;.  .,      ,,.    ; 


Mills. 


Port  Discovery 

"Washington,  Uadlock,  Port  Town- 
send     

Port  Blukely 

Port  Gamble 

Port  Ludlow 

Puget,  Utsalady 

Tacoma,  Tacoma 

St.  Paul  and  Tacoma 

Gig  Harbor 

Port  Madison 

Pacific,  Tacoma 

Local,  in  Tacoma 

Local,  in  Seattle 


On  Bellingham  Bay     .    . 
Other  Local,  Puget  Sound 


Total  Puget  Sound 


Lumber. 


32,537,459 

24,800,737 
02,092,701 
42,138,399 
25,040,695 
20,781,721 
53,578,108 
36,000,000 
14,722,971 
25,400,000 
40,000,000 
94,500,000 
140,500,000 
35.000,000 
37,000,000 


684,182,851 


Lath. 


13,774,800 

7,482,000 

11,387,100 

10,280,617 

6,168,076 

7,897,247 

18,156,250 

3,750,000 

0,038,420 

8,128,000 

12,000,000 

12,000,000 

18,000,000 

5,000,000 

3,000,000 


143,052,610 


Pickets. 


1,071,470 

307,855 

629,038 

181,180 

63,067 

05,534 

221,910 

300,000 

98,820 

300,000 


8,209,476 


OTHER   SECTIONS.       ;  . 

•-  ■•■■      Lumber. 

Five  Gray's  Harbor  mills 98,500,000  feet. 

Two  Shoiil water  Bay  mills 35,000,000    " 

Six  Columbia  River  mills 76,000,000    " 

Nine  mills  between  Columbia  Kiver  and  the 

Sound 81,000,000 

Eleven  other  mills 92,000,000 

■'  v'vi-:^;,  .;  382,500,000 

Puget  Sound  mills 684,182,851 

.  1,066,682,851 


II 
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f^^^^^^p 


318 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


About  seven  million  feet  was  dressed  lumber.  The  value  of 
this  product  for  this  one  year  was  012,800,284.  The  larger 
mills  own  a  fleet  of  vessels,  but  aside  from  these  hundreds  of 
vessels  come  here  to  load.  Statistics  from  eight  Puget  Sound 
mills  show  that  four  hundred  and  two  cargoes  sailed  from  their 
docks  in  1889.  Port  Madison  and  Pacific  mills  furnished  no 
list  of  vessels,  but  they  probably  loaded  another  hundred. 
These  cargoes  go  to  the  ports  of  California,  Mexico,  Central 
America,  Hawaii,  Peru,  Chili,  Australia,  Brazil,  China,  and 
Great  Britain.  The  Port  Blakely  mill  filled  one  order  from 
Cardiff,  England,  for  one  million  feet  in  timbers  sixteen  by  six- 
teen inches  square  and  sixty-one  feet  long,  and  twenty-four 
inches  square  and  ninety  feet  long.  The  value  of  this  cargo 
was  seventeen  thousand  dollars.  ,        .;  ,; 

Let  us,  then,  go  to  see  Port  Blakely.  It  lies  ten  miles  west  of 
Seattle  on  the  southern  end  of  Bainbridge  Island,  and  is  owned 
by  Captain  W,  H.  Ecnton  and  associates.  Most  of  the  great 
milling  establishments  of  Puget  Sound  were  founded  about 
1852-53,  when  the  devastating  fires  of  San  Francisco's  early 
history  suggested  the  need' of  lumber  manufacture.  Benton 
was  one  of  the  many  sea  captains — chiefly  Maine  men — who 
saw  their  ideal  haven  in  Puget  Sound.  It  is  related  that  in 
1851  Dr.  Samuel  Merritt,  of  San  Francisco,  sent  a  vessel,  of 
which  he  was  owner,  to  these  northern  watei'S  for  ice.  When 
the  vessel  returned,  the  captain  surprised  the  doctor  by  saying 
as  soon  as  they  met,  "Why,  doctor,  water  don't  freeze  in  Puget 
Sound  1"  This  was  a  revelation,  and  many  a  sea-going  man 
from  the  coast  of  New  England,  looking  at  the  waters  which 
never  froze  and  the  limitless  forests,  determined  to  stick  his 
stake  there. 

And  so  it  fell  out  that,  in  1853,  Captain  Ronton  joined  C.  C. 
Terry  on  Alki  Point  in  erecting  a  mill,  which  they  afterwards 
removed  to  Port  Orchard,  and  subsequently  sold.  Renton  then 
.went  to  Port  Blakely,  and  with  a  partner  named  Howard  erected 
in  1864  an  establishment  costing  eighty  thousand  dollars,  and  , 
which  would  cut  fifty  thousand  feet  a  day.  In  1880  its  capacity 
was  increased  to  two  hundred  thousand  feet  per  diem  of  twelve 
hours.  It  now  cuts  three  hundred  thousand,  and  could  add 
another  one  hundred  thousand,  having  a  great  number  of  saws, 


THE   QUEEN    CITY   AND    ITS   DEPENDENCIES. 


319 


and  a  three-thousand  horsepower.  Captain  Ronton  resides  here, 
and  employs  two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  many  of  whom  have 
families.  Their  homes  constitute  a  pretty  village,  with  a  public 
hall  and  reading-room.  Education  and  amusement  ax*e  encour- 
aged to  make  pleasant  the  lives  of  the  workers. 

And  surely  they  need  it.  I  never  behold  great  manufactories 
like  this  without  resentment. towards  the  vandalism  of  progress. 
What  a  creature  is  man  !  What  dreadful  machinery  he  invents 
to  rend  in  pieces,  to  pull  down,  to  drag  along,  to  dig  up,  and  to 
build  up — a  fortune  for  himself!  The  forces  of  nature  move 
silently  and  majestically,  but  man's  inventions  harrow  your 
nerves  and  confound  your  understanding.  They  whizz,  bang, 
whistle,  roar,  shriek,  clang,  rattle,  pound  ;  they  break,  crush, 
tear ;  they  are  violent ;  they  wound  and  weary  your  spirit. 
Yet  here  is  Captain  Ronton,  who  has  spent  along  life  with  the 
scream  of  machinery  in  his  ears,  and  he  is  the  kind  friend  of  all 
who  serve  him,  himself  deprived  of  his  sight  by  an  accident 
which  might  any  day  befall  them. 

About  eight  miles  farther  down  the  Sound,  on  the  north  end 
of  Bainbridge  Island,  is  Port  Madison,  an  inlet  so  narrow  that 
our  steamer  is  compelled  to  back  out  without  turning  around. 
The  village  lies  on  a  smooth  hill-side,  made  picturesque  by  some 
large  trees  of  broad-leaved  maple. 

Twenty  miles  or  more  north,  and  just  at  the  entrance  of  Hood's 
Canal,  is  Port  Ludlow.  This  establishment,  with  one  at  Utsalady 
on  Camano  Island,  opposite  Crescent  Harbor,  and  another  at 
Port  Gamble,  seven  miles  inside  the  canal,  belongs  to  the  Puget 
Mill  Company.  The  village  at  Port  Gamble  is  called  by  the 
pretty  Indian  name  of  Teekalet. 

The  Washington  Mill  Company  is  located  at  Hadlock,  at  the 
head  of  Port  Townsend  Bay.  The  last  of  these  great  mills,  all 
of  whioh  contribute  to  the  business  of  Seattle  in  some  measure, 
is  on  Port  Discovery,  well  up  towards  the  foot-hills  of  the 
Olympic  Eange,  and  near  the  foot  of  Mount  Constance.  There 
is  a  road  across  the  peninsula  between  Port  Discovery  and  Port 
Townsend.  Squim  Bay  is  another  inlet,  three  to  five  miles  west 
of  Port  Discovery,  and  the  government  has  reservations  on  each 
side  of  the  entrance,  as  it  has  at  all  these  harbors.  On  many  of 
them  are  light-houses  which  shine  gratefully  across  the  waters 


kf 


um        '  i> 


320 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


liil 


;  III 


I' 


as  our  stoamor  glides  througli  tlto  dusk  of  a  summor  night,  and 
brings  us  bade  by  morning  to  Seattle.  >'  ^     ' 

The  real  country  tributary  to  the  Queen  City  lies  to  the  north 
on  the  oast  shore  of  tlio  Sound.  Tlie  first  river  falling  into  tho 
Sound  north  of  Seattle  is  the  Snohomish,  formed  by  tho  junction 
of  the  Snoqualmie  ami  the  SkyUomish  llivers,  about  twenty- 
five  miles  northwest  of  Snoqualmie  Falls.  The  tourist  can  take 
the  Seattle,  Lake  Shore  and  Eastern  Kailroad,  and  by  a  branch 
roach  Snohomish  City  in  about  an  hour  and  a  half,  or  can  take 
a  stoamboat  to  that  place. 

There  is  little  to  catch  the  eye  of  tho  traveller  in  the  region 
traversed  by  the  railroad.  It  is  a  scone  of  newly-opened  forest 
with  new  settlements,  such  as  we  have  seen  so  frequently,  and 
must  continue  to  see  wherever  we  go  in  the  lower  Sound  country 
except  on  some  of  the  islands.  This  is  the  case  because  the 
chief  and  most  profitable  pursuits  of  the  people  hitherto  have 
been  logging  for  the  great  mills,  growing  hay  and  vegetables  on  , 
the  rich  bottom-lands,  bee-culture,  and  cattle-raising.  More 
recently  they  have  taken  to  lumbering,  and  a  good  many  mills 
have  been  erected  in  Snohomish  Valley.  Snohomish  City  is  a 
town  of  three  thousand  inhabitants,  located  near  tho  head  of 
navigation  by  steamboat  on  the  river.  It  is  well  situated  on  the 
north  bank,  with  several  hotels,  three  churches,  a  scientific  society 
and  museum,  a  fiftoen-thousand-dollar  school-house,  two  dozen 
stores,  a  more  than  average  number  of  professional  men  even 
for  a  county-seat,  and  other  signs  of  an  intelligent  population. 
Here  and  in  tho  vicinity  are  half  a  dozen  large  saw-mills,  five 
shingle-mills,  three  sash-,  door-,  blind-,  and  moulding-factories, 
and  many  logging-camps.  The  export  trade  of  Snohomish  Eiver 
is  of  the  value  of  two  million  dollars  annually,  while  tho  local 
trade  between  farmers,  loggers,  other  people,  and  tho  merchants 
exceeds  that  sum.  It  is  estimated  that  the  improvements  of 
1890  will  be  of  the  value  of  one  million  dollars,  and  will  include 
a  court-house  and  a  theatre.  The  Snohomish  Agricultural 
Society  and  Turf  Club  will  make  a  speed-track  near  Lake 
Blackman,  for  the  exhibition  of  blooded  horses ;  from  all  of 
which  it  is  evident  that  the  people  of  Snohomish  are  progres- 
sive. 

Machias  is  a  now  town  located  on  the  Pillchuck,  a  branch  of 


THE  QUEEN  CITY   AND   ITS   DEPENDENCIES. 


3iU 


t,  and 


north 
to  the 
notion 
kventy- 
,n  tako 
bi-anch 
tn  take 

region 
I  forest 
,ly,  and 
country 
luse  the 
•to  have 
ables  on 
More 
ny  mills 
City  is  a 
head  of 
d  on  the 
c  society 
'O  dozen 
ion  even 
puUition. 
nills,  five 
iictories, 
ish  Eiver 
the  local 
lerchants 
naonts  of 
U  include 
ricultural 
jar  Lake 
)m  all  of 
e  progres- 

jranch  of 


the  Snohomish,  at  the  point  of  contact  of  the  Seattle,  Lake  Shore 
and  Eastern,  and  near  Lake  Stevens,  a  beautiful  »hoet  of  waior. 
Lumbering  is  (he  great  industry  at  present,  but  1  hoar  a  good 
deal  about  mines  of  coal  and  of  silver  in  the  neighborhood. 

Cathcart,  Lowell,  and  Marysville  are  milling-towns  on  the 
river  below  Snohomish.  The  river  is  crooked  and  not  wide, 
with  low  banks  which  must  bo  overflowed  in  some  seasons.  It 
parts  into  several  channels  five  or  six  miles  from  Port  Gardiner, 
into  which  it  flows  by  three  mouths.  On  the  north  side  of  the 
enti'ance  is  the  Tulalip  Indian  reservation,  including  thirty-eight 
square  miles  of  excellent  land.  On  the  south  side  of  Port 
Gardiner  is  Muokilteo,  a  fish-cannin<r  establishment. 

I  have  not  taken  pains  to  collect  any  information  about  the 
salmon  fisheries  of  the  Sound,  which  are  in  tiuir  general  feat- 
ures the  same  as  those  of  the  Columbia.  But  the  variety  of 
food  fishes  in  the  Sound  is  much  greater  than  in  the  great  fresh- 
water river.  Halibut  and  codfish  are  plentiful,  as  well  as 
smaller  fish,  such  as  smelt  and  herring,  but  the  business  of  pack- 
ing them  has  not  seemed  to  attract  capital.  The  only  compau}- 
1  heard  of  was  one  on  Scow  Bay,  Port  Townsend,  and  they  were 
professional  fishermen  from  Massachusoits  who  had  recently 
set  up  this  establishment.  They  experimented  by  sending  a 
refrigerator  car  to  New  York  packed  with  halibut  on  ice,  and, 
finding  it  practicable,  went  into  the  business.  Oysters  are  suc- 
cessfully grown  in  the  Sound,  and  clams  of  half  a  dozen  varie- 
ties are  native.  Lobsters  have  been  planted  by  the  government, 
as  also  carp  and  shad.    This  by  way  of  parenthesis.  "'    ■ 

Twelve  or  fifteen  miles  north  of  the  Snohomish,  the  Stillaqua- 
mish  Eiver  enters  that  part  of  the  Sound  called  Port  Susan  by 
Vancouver,  It  was  somewhere  about  here,  perhaps  on  the  south 
shore  of  Port  Gardner,  that  on  the  king's  birthday,  June  4, 
1792,  Vancouver  took  formal  possession  of  this  region  for  his 
Majesty, — hence  the  name  "  Possession  Sound,"  given  to  the 
eastern  arm  of  this  wonderful  sea,  which  is  no  sound  at  all. 

Edmunds  is  the  seaport  town  of  Snohomish  County,  and  only 
four  years  old.     It  boasts  many  advantages.  ' 

On  the  Stillaquamish  is  one  town — Stanwood — of  considerable 
consequence  as  a  milling  and  trading  centre  for  that  valley. 
Marysville  is  also  a  thriving  place.     Centreville  is  older,  but 

21 


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ill' 


m  '•- 

m    ^ 

H  ' 

IE' 

1             ; 

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i  1 1  s:ii 

m 


322 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


does  less  business.  The  Stillag.iamish,  like  the  Snohomish,  has 
three  mouths,  two  opening  into  Port  Susan,  and  one  into  a  name- 
less portion  of  the  Sound  connected  with  Port  Susan  by  a  pas- 
sage not  m  ;re  than  half  a  mile  in  width.  A  projoct  is  on  foot 
to  connect  Utsalady  with  the  mainland  raih'oads  by  a  line  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Stillaguf.raish,  bridging  this  passage. 

The  rivers  on  this  side  of  the  Sound,  especially  these  northern 
rivers,  have  all  this  delta  feature.  They  have  rushed  down  from 
the  mountains  for  ages,  bearing  the  soil  formed  tVom  the  rocks 
and  vegetable  mould,  which  the  tides  have  beaten  back  again 
until  wide  areas  of  the  richest  marsh-land  have  been  formed.  In 
seasons  of  flood  the  river  has  washeti  out  several  channels  by 
which  to  get  to  deep  water  throL:gh  this  luipccSiment.  These 
marsh  lands  when  diked  are  the  most  productive  in  the  State, 
if  not  in  ihe  world,  but  in  the  amplitude  of  other  resources 
their  value  is  not  yet  fully  appreciated. 

Speaking  of  other  resources,  the  reader  is  referred  for  one  of 
the  most  important,  but  undeveloped,  to  the  chapter  on  geology 
and  mineralogy.  All  that  is  there  said  of  the  country  immediately 
north  of  the  Stillaquamish  is  undoubtedly  true  here.  The  east 
shore  of  the  Sound  from  Bellingham  Bay  to  Nisqually  Rivf  r  is 
rich  in  minerals, — coal,  iron,  silver,  marble,  building-sione,  asbes- 
tos, tin,  and  ores  of  other  metals.  But  ther.  are  not  yet  hands 
enough  in  the  State,  however  willing,  to  uncover  this  wealth. 
Sultan,  on  a  branch  of  the  Skykomii-h,  is  in  a  rich  silver-bearing 
district. 

Vv  hen  I  speak  of  this  country  as  tributary  to  Seattle,  it  is  as 
dependent  upon  the  lar  r  market  of  a  commercial  metropolis 
for  supplies.  The  same  might  be  said  of  the  whole  northern 
part  of  West  VVasaington,  a  co-.idition  of  things  which  is  not 
likely  to  be  perpetuated  when  its  grand  resources  begin  in 
earnest  to  be  devdoped. 

Pointing  our  steamer's  nrow  southward;  we  again  enter  the 
main  body  of  the  Sound,  Admiralty  Inlet,  and  rounding  Whid- 
bey  Island  proceed  to  P(j' t  Townsend. 


sh,  has 
t  name- 
■  a  pas- 
on  foot 
line  to 

ovthern 
vn  from 
le  rocks 
ic  again 
aed.  In 
-inels  by 
.  TLiese 
10  State, 
•esources 

)v  one  of 
i  geology 
ncdiatoly 

The  east 
'  Eive  r  in 
ne,  asbes- 
^et  hands 
is  -wealth . 

r-bcaring 

c,  it  ia  as 
■iiotropolis 

northern 
ieh  is  not 

beiriu   in 

enter  the 
in  IT  Wbid- 


ABOUT   THE   KEY   CITY    AND    VICINITY. 


323 


CHAP  TEE    XXV. 

ABOUT    THE    KEY   CITY    ANE    VICTNITY. 

Port  Townsuenb — that  is  the  way  Vancouver  spelled  it — is 
situated  on  the  Quimper  Peninsula  between  PortTownsend  anc 
Port  Discovery  Bays.  Jt  does  not  face  the  Fuca  Sea  to  the 
north,  nor  even  Admiralty  inlet,  but  is  situated  on  the  bay. 


IX    Tnu    STRAITS. 


lacing  south,  a  fact  which  bewilders  the  tourist,  whose  head  is 
ah'eady  turned  with  the  effort  to  keep  his  course  on  these  wan- 
dering waters.  Let  no  one  begin  a  journey  on  the  Sound  with- 
out a  map  in  his  hand, — a  good  one,  like  that  published  by 
Eastwick,  Morris  &  Co.,  of  Seattle, — for  you  learn  nothing  from 
the  ordinary  maps  of  the  actual  shape  of  land  or  sea. 

The  Quimper  Peninsida  has  a  genera!  width  of  about  four 
miles,  although  onl}'  two  miles  wide  at  its  eastern  end,  being 
shaped  like  a  sickle  with  its  point  towards  the  east  broken  off, 
leaving  not  one  but  two  points  at  the  end.  The  northern  one, 
on  which  there  is  a  light-house,  is  culled  Point  Wilson,  and  the 


I 


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% 

in -I   * 


i 


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1  i 


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mill'  m 


il'ii  ifl 


324 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


southern  one  Poi:>t  Hudson.  It  is  under  the  loe  of  the  latter 
that  the  city  is  located.  There  is  a  strip  of  low-lying  land  along 
the  front  where  the  business  of  the  town  is  ceutred,  and  rising 
abruptly  back  of  it  is  a  high  bluff,  level  and  bare,  ou  which  the 
residence  portion  of  the  city  is  laid  off,  which  is  much  exposed 
to  winds  from  all  quarters. 

This  is  one  of  the  oldest  towns  in  Washington,  having  been 
founded  in  1851  by  L.  B.  Hastings,  P.  W.  Pettygrove,  C.  C. 
Bachelder,  and  A,  A.  Plummer.  It  was  soon'made  the  port  of 
entry' for  this  district,  which  it  still  remains,  and  which  gives  it 
the  sobriquet  of  Key  City.  For  many  years  there  was  a  mili- 
tary post  on  the  west  shore  of  the  bay,  two  and  a  half  miles 
distant.  The  customs  office,  trade  with  the  people  at  the  fort 
and  the  scattered  population  along  the  shore  of  the  Strait  of 
Fuca,  as  well  as  of  the  more  thickly  inhabited  Whidbey  and 
Camano  Islands,  witb  some  local  lumbering  and  ship-building 
en t' ■.•prises,  kept  the  Port  Townsend  people  fairl}''  prosperous 
d  ring  the  period  from  1852  to  1888,  and  not  only  that,  in  an 
oyster-like  content,  but  with  a  wide-awake,  intelligent,  courteous, 
and  modish  spirit.  Tbcy  had  enough,  they  were  able  to  vait, 
they  cultivated  social  habits,  and  enjoyed  the  beauties  of  their 
situation.  For  one  could  not  reasonably  ask  to  be  shown  any- 
thing finer  than  can  be  seen  from  the  bluffs  at  Port  Townsend. 
To  the  northeast  is  Mount  Baker,  with  its  ragged  double  peak 
fretting  the  heavens.  In  the  southeast  is  Mount  Eainier ;  ou 
the  west.  Mount  Olympus ;  on  the  east,  Whidbey  Island,  the 
garden  of  Pugot  Sound,  aud  across  tiie  Strait  the  San  Juan 
group,  in  the  P\ica  Sea. 

It  is  claimed,  and  I  have  no  doubt  with  iruth,  that  the  cUmate 
of  this  locality  is  superior  to  other  parts  of  the  Sound  country, 
the  average  annual  rainfall  being  sixteeii  or  seventeen  inches 
against  from  forty  to  sixty  at  Olyinpia.  The  southeily  winds 
which  prevail  during  winter,  and  bring  copious  rains  to  West 
Washington  when  they  reach  the  Strait,  seem  to  be  met  by  the 
warm-air  current  from  the  Japanese  gulf-stream  and  the  rain- 
clouds  carried  away  eastward,  for  there  is  much  less  precii)ita- 
tion  on  Quimper  Peninsula  and  the  islands  in  the  Fuca  Sea  than 
elsewhere.  My  attention  was  called  to  the  fact  that  the  flower- 
ing shrubs  of  three  degrees  farther  south  reappeared  on  the 


ABOUT   THE   KEY   CITY   AND   VICINITY. 


325 


latter 
along 
rising 
ch  the 
xposed 

g  been 
,  C.  C. 

port  of 

[rived  it 
a  mili- 

f  miles 

;he  fort 

trait  of 

jey  and 

ouilding 

)spcrous 

at,  in  an 

)urteous, 
to  vait, 
of  their 

iwn  any- 

)\vnsend. 

ible  peak 
nier ;  on 
and,  the 

km  Juun 

a  climate 
country, 
en  inches 
ly  winds 
to  West 
ot  by  the 
1  the  rain- 
prec'pita- 
i  Sea  than 
he  flower- 
ed on  the 


bluffs  about  Port  Townsend.  Even  the  city  of  Victoria,  on 
Vancouver  Island,  enjoys  this  exemption  from  surplus  moisture, 
which  at  the  mouth  of  the  Strait  is  excessive.  The  superior 
mildness  of  the  climate  of  this  locality  and  the  archipelago  still 
farther  north  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  warmed  water  of  the 
gulf  stream  which  flows  inland  with  the  tides,  warming  the  air 
above  it. 

Port  Townsend  has  a  population  of  about  seven  thousand,  a 
good  part  of  which  has  been  gained  in  the  two  years  just 
passed.  The  recent  sudden  impulse  given  to  the  growth  of  the 
city  was  the  effect  of  the  inception  of  the  Port  Townsend  and 
Southern  Railroad,  a  local  enterprise  which  was  to  connect  it 
with  Portland,  and  thus  with  two  transcontinental  roads  from 
thore,  as  well  as  with  the  Northern  Pacific  somewhere  south  of 
Olj'mpia,  which  would  give  it  a  third  overland  route.  The 
enterprise  was  soon  taken  in  hand  by  the  Oregon  Impi'ovement 
Company,  a  syndicate  which  is  closely  allied  to  the  Union 
Pacific  and  the  leased  Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  Com- 
panies. 

Over  one  million  dollars  was  expended  in  1889  in  the  con- 
struction of  new  business  buildings.  The  government  also  be- 
gan work  on  a  new  custom-house,  to  cost  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars.  A  fine  hotel,  the  "  Eisenbeis,"  was  erected, 
three  miles  of  street  railway  built,  a  company  formed  to  supply 
the  city  with  water,  and  several  new  manufactories  started. 
Besides  all  this,  half  a  dozen  "  additions"  were  made  to  the  old 
town.  Truly,  the  power  of  railroads,  or  even  the  prospect  of 
one,  to  give  life  to  business,  is  marvellous. 

Besides  the  lumber-mills  before  mentioned  as  being  in  the 
vicinity  of  Port  Townsend,  there  are  the  Puget  Sound  Iron- 
works at  Chimaeum,  or  Irondale,  near  the  head  of  the  bay, 
which  turned  out  in  1*^89  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars' worth  of  pig-irrn,  employing  in  the  mines,  the  woods,  and 
the  works  six  hundred  men. 

The  rival,  but  hitherto  an  unsuccessful  one,  of  Port  Townsend 
is  Port  Angeles,  on  the  south  shore  of  Fuca  Strait,  and  west 
about  thirty  miles.  It  has  a  good  harbor,  and  there  is  no 
natural  reason  why  it  should  not  be  the  port  of  entry  instead 
of  Townsend.     When,  in  1861,  Victor  Smith  was  appointed  col- 


11 


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f     If 


<i      1 


BMB 


I-<  i 


I     i 


i:^ 


il^ 


326 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


lector,  he  bectime  one  of  a  town  company  at  Port  Angeles,  and 
after  a  good  deal  of  quarrelling  with  other  otficials  and  tl)e  pro- 
prietors of  Port  Townsend,  finally  succeeded  in  removing  the 
office  to  the  new  site,  being  sustained  by  the  authorities  at 
Washington,  D.C.,  in  his  action.  But  now  behold  the  punish- 
ment which  follows  naughty  deeds.  In  his  absence,  and  during 
the  winter  rains  of  1863,  a  land-slide  occurred  in  the  hills  back 
of  Port  Angeles,  damming  up  a  stream  already  swollen,  which, 
after  the  restrained  waters  bad  formed  a  lake,  broke  through 
the  obstruction  and  precipitated  such  a  flood  upon  the  town  as 
destroyed  it  and  cost  several  lives.  Smith,  however,  continued 
to  keep  the  office  at  Port  Angeles  until  1865,  when  he  perished 
by  the  foundering  of  the  "  Brother  Jonathan,"  near  Crescent 
City,  California,  after  which  the  custom-house  was  restored  to 
Port  Townsend,  and  the  lots  of  the  Port  of  the  Angels  went 
back  into  acreage,  so  remaining  until  within  a  year  or  two, 
when  it  was  now-created  by  the  Port  Angeles  Land  Company 
and  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad. 

That  Port  Angeles  has  merit  as  a  site  for  a  city  is  admitted. 
General  McClellan,  w^hen  he  was  surveying  for  a  route  for  the 
Northern  Pacific  in  1853-54,  said  of  it  that  it  was  the  '•  first 
attempt  of  nature  on  this  coaat  to  form  a  good  harbor,"  and  in 
a  recent  petition  of  the  shipmasters  of  the  Pacific  Coast  to  the 
Treasury  Dt'partment,  indorsed  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
of  San  Francisco,  asking  for  a  sub-port  of  entry  at  Port  Angeles, 
the  reasons  given  were  that  the  harbor  was  easy  of  access  and 
in  the  direct  route  of  vessels  bound  up  or  down  the  Strait  of 
Puca,  that  it  was  the  first  harbor  on  the  American  side  after 
entering  the  Strait  from  the  ocean,  and  that  it  was  protected 
from  all  winds,  had  good  holding-ground,  ample  room,  and  no 
rocks  or  shoals.  On  this  presentation  the  prayer  was  granted, 
and  at  the  same  time  that  Seattle  and  Tacoma  were  made  sub- 
ports  of  entry,  Port  Angeles  opened  her  books.  It  means 
much  to  vessels  for  that  place,  which  otherwise  would  have  to 
go  sixty  miles  to  Port  Townsend  to  enter. 

A  coal-field  has  been  discovered  within  a  few  miles  of  Port 
Angeles  ;  the  country  back  of  it  is  good,  and  there  appeal's  no 
reason,  if  people  come  here,  why  they  should  not  prosper.  The 
best  harbor,  situated,  too,  nearest  the  sea,  ought  to  go  for  some- 


ABOUT   THE   KEY   CITY   AND   VICINITY. 


327 


3s,  and 
lie  pi'o- 
ng  tbe 
.ties  at 
punish- 
during 
Us  back 
,  which, 
through 
lown  as 
)ntinued 
perished 
Crescent 
stored  to 
els  went 
■  or  two, 
Company 

admitted, 
te  for  the 
the  "first 
r,"  and  in 
last  to  the 
Commerce 
t  Angeles, 
access  and 
Strait  of 
side  after 
protected 
)m, and  no 
18  granted, 
)  made  sub- 
It   means 
ild  have  to 

iles  of  Port 

appeal's  no 

osper.    The 

ro  for  some- 


thing.    The  city  of  Victoria,  B.C.,  is  directly  opposite,  twenty 
miles  distant. 

The  coast  lying  east  of  Port  Townscnd,  as  far  as  the  Elwha 
Eiver,  has  long  been  settled,  donation  claims  being  taken  under 
the  Oregon  Land  Law  on  these  remote  shores  in  1852  and  1853 ; 
New  Dtingencss,  Squim  Bay,  and  Protection  Ii^land  in  front  of 
Port  Discovery  having  been  among  the  earliest  settlements  in 
the  northern  part  of  Washington,  the  pioneers  still  clinging 
fondly  to  their  first  choice. 

Whidbey  Island  also,  so  much  admired  by  both  Vancouver 
and  Wilkes,  was  quickly  appropriated  by  the  immigrants  from 
the  Western  States,  whose  descendants  inherit  the  lands  won  by 
indescribable  hardships  and  danger.  The  first  permanent  set- 
tlers were  the  Ebey  family,  in  1854.  I.  N.  Ebey  was  a  man  of 
unusual  ability  and  cultivation  for  his  time  and  environments. 
He  was  the  second  collector  of  customs  on  Puget  Sound,  for 
which  distinction  he  paid  with  his  life,  being  murdered  in  his 
own  house  by  the  Northern  Indians,  or  Ilydaiis,  who  h.uded  on 
the  island  in  the  night,  and,  to  avenge  some  loss  of  their  tribe, 
cut  off  Ebcy's  head  and  carried  it  away.  The  family  escaped  in 
the  darkness,  and  with  them  a  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Corliss,  who  after- 
wards went  to  Southern  Califoiuia  to  live,  on  a  sheep  rancho, 
where  they  were  murdered  in  their  house  by  unknown  persons, 
supposed  to  be  Mexicans.  Mrs.  Corliss  was  a  daughter  of  Peter 
Judson,  the  first  settler  at  Tacoma,  whose  family  escaped  the 
Indian  massacres  of  1855-56.  Yet  her  fate  pursued  her  to  her 
death  in  a  far-off  home  where  no  danger  was  apprehended. 

Whidbey  Island  contains  about  one  hundred  and  fift}-  square 
miles,  about  six  thousand  acres  of  which  is  excellent  prairie- 
land,  requiring  no  clearing,  an  agreeable  climate,  a  favorable 
position  in  the  Sound,  and  many  charms  of  scenery,  from  which 
characteristics  it  obtained  the  title  of  Garden  of  Puget  Sound. 
Coupeville,  on  Penn's  Cove,  is  the  only  town  of  any  importance, 
but  an  effort  is  being  made  to  build  up  a  place  named  Whidbey 
City,  and  another  which  has  beatified  the  bold  navigator  Juan 
do  Fuca,  and  called  itself  the  city  of  San  de  F\ca.  This  am- 
bitious townlet,  under  the  patronage  of  its  beforeunheard-of 
saint,  proUiises  to  expend  two  million  dollars  in  cutting  a  ship- 
canal  across  the  mile  and  a  half  of  land  between  Penn's  Cove 


J 


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328 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


I 


and  the  Strait,  and  in  railrosui  building.  Steamers  could,  in 
case  the  canal  was  constructed,  pass  out  of  the  east  channels 
into  the  Strait  without  going  as  far  north  as  Deception  Pass,  it 
is  true,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  sailing-vessels  would  care  to  face  the 
wind  which  would  be  blowing  on  shore  just  at  this  point  a  good 
portion  of  the  year. 

Caniano  Island,  with  Whidboy,  constitute  Island  County. 
They  are  separated  by  Saratoga  Passage,  which  in  the  nautical 
l)arlance  of  the  Sound  is  known  as  "  the  inside  passage''  in  going 
to  Bellingham  Bay  or  Victoria.  To  get  into  the  Fuca  Sea  by 
this  route  we  must  run  through  Deception  Pass,  between  Whid- 
bey  and  Fidalgo  Islands.  So  de&irous  was  I  of  viewing  the 
reputed  wonders  of  this  passage  that  I  spent  most  of  a  night  in 
looking  for  them,  being  rewarded  towards  daylight  by  the 
actual  scene.  The  pass  is  only  about  six  miles  long,  being  from 
a  quarter  to  half  a  mile  in  width,  with  rocky  shores  rising 
abruptly  from  the  water,  the  rounded  tops  of  which  have  a 
time-worn  appearance,  and  out  of  the  crevices  of  which  grow 
evergreen  trees  of  a  size  very  inferior  to  those  along  the  main- 
land shores.  Through  this  rocky  funnel  the  wind  carouses,  and 
the  tide  runs  with  a  swiftness  which  sometimes  holds  a  steamer 
stationary.  The  very  force  which  seems  dangerous  is  a  protec- 
tion, the  flood  running  up  the  side  of  the  channel  and  its  reflex 
action  carrying  the  steamer  back  lo  mid-passage.  So  with 
great  whistling  of  the  wind,  rushing  of  water,  and  rattling  of 
cargo,  we  were  carried  safely  thi'ough  into  smooth  water  in  the 
Fuca  Sea, 


HHWI 


* 


CHAPTEK    XXVI. 

.  THE   SAN   JUAN   ARCHIPELAGO   AND   CITY   OF   THE   SEA. 

Being  in  the  Fuca  Sea,  let  us  have  a  talk  about  it  and  its 
archipelago.  Fidalgo,  Guemes,  Cypress,  and  Lummi  Islands  lie 
east  of  Kosario  Strait,  and  belong  to  counties  on  the  mainland, 
as  Skagit  (pronounced  Skadgit)  and  Whatcom,  while  San  Juan, 


the 


and  its 

ilanda  lie 

lainland, 

an  Juan, 


8AN   JUAN    ARCHIPELAGO   AND   CITY   OF   THE   SEA.      329 

Orcas,  Lopez,  Shaw,  Bhvkely,  Decatur,  and  numerous  smaller 
islands  constitute  the  county  of  San  Juan  and  the  San  Juan 
Archipelago. 

The  island  of  that  name  contains  about  fifty  square  miles,  and 
is  famous  for  its  limestone  quarries  and  lime-kilns.  It  is  also 
famous  as  the  seat  of  the  San  Juan  war  during  the  contention 
between  England  and  the  United  States  concerning  the  owner- 
ship of  these  islands,  England  holding  that  Rosario  Strait  was 
the  main  channel,  while  the  United  States  held  that  the  Canal 
rle  Haro  was  such. 


AMONG    THE    ISLANDS. 


A  goose  has  been  credited  with  saving  Rome.  A  pig  it  was 
that  saved  the  San  Juan  group,  for  when  collector  Ebey,  in  1854, 
appeared  on  the  island  and  procoeded  to  confiscate  a  British 
pig  or  two  on  the  refusal  of  the  owner  to  pay  import  duties  on 
a  band  of  sheep  from  Vancouver  Island,  the  British  unicorn 
exalted  its  horn  and  asserted  its  claim  to  the  archipelago.  So 
serious  did  the  dispute  become  that  General  Harney,  command- 
ing the  Department  of  the  Columbia,  jilaced  a  force  on  the 
island  of  San  Juan  to  hold  it  at  all  hazards,  and  a  post  was 
maintained   there  until  the  settlement  of  the  controversy  by 


II 
I 

•  f.'T 


1--.     i'l 


330 


ATT.ANTIS  ARISEN. 


P  *'* 


1     '.V 


arbitration,  in  1872,  when  Emperor  William  of  Germany  de- 
cided in  favor  of  the  claim  of  the  United  States. 

One  should  enter  the  Fiica  Sea  by  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  fifteen 
miles  wide  and  sixty  in  length.  At  this  gateway  of  the  Pacific 
stand,  what  it  requires  the  help  of  our  imagination  to  make  out, 
the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  of  Vancouver.  As  we  advance,  Van- 
couver Island  is  on  our  left,  its  general  surface  rather  rounded 
and  smooth,  crowned  with  forest  in  the  interior,  its  shores  in- 
dented with  lovely  baj-s  and  coves  of  a  most  inviting  appearance. 
On  the  right  is  the  mainland,  with  the  Olympic  Range  lifting  its 
silvered  summits  and  noble  peaks.  In  front,  rising  from  the 
Cascade  Eange,  is  Mount  Baker,  with  half  a  dozen  lesser  peaks 
grouped  about  it. 

Advancing  still  farther,  we  pass  by  the  southern  end  of  the 
San  Juan  group,  which  scarcely  shows  an  opening  between  the 
islands,  and  find  ourselves  almost  abreast  Deception  Pass.  Let 
us  turn  to  the  north,  where  we  have  not  yet  been,  and  make 
for  Anacortes,  where  we  desire  to  go,  because  we  have  heard 
wonderful  things  of  Anacortes.  A  half-dozen  miles  takes  us  to 
Ship  Harbor,  or  Guemes  Canal,  and  half  a  dozen  more  to  the 
City  of  the  Sea. 

Fidalgo  Island  has  all  those  eccentricities  of  shape  which 
characterize  this  group.  Stretching  north  from  Deception  Pass 
seven  miles  to  Guemes  Canal,  with  a  width  varying  from  three 
to  six  miles,  it  is  flanked  on  the  west  by  two  small  islands,  and 
cut  into  on  the  east  by  an  inlet  about  three  miles  long  from 
north  to  south,  forming,  with  Padilla  Bay,  a  nari'ow  peninsula 
pointing  north,  while  about  nine  square  miles  of  its  area  are  con- 
tained in  another  peninsula  pointing  south,  and  separated  from 
the  main  island  by  Similk  Bay,  which  meets  Deception  Pass  on 
the  southeast.  This  portion  of  the  island  is  an  Indian  reser- 
vation, and  is  divided  from  the  mainland  only  by  Swinomish 
Slough,  a  narrow  and  shallow  but  navigable  channel  between 
Padilla  Bay  and  that  unnamed  portion  of  the  Sound  before 
referred  to,  north  of  Port  Susan,  and  into  which  empties  the 
Skagit  River  by  several  mouths. 

Near  the  centre  oi  Fidalgo  Island  is  Mount  Erie,  twelve  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  in  height,  while  several  small  lakes  add  to  its 
scenic  attractions.    To  say  that  the  view  from  the  summit  of 


SAN   JUAN   ARCHIPELAGO   AND   CITY   OF  THE   SEA.      331 


r  de- 

iftcen 
'acific 
e  out, 
Van- 
unded 
•63  in- 
ivancc. 
ing  its 
)m  iho 
•  peaks 

of  tbe 
een  the 
,9.  Let 
d  make 
e  heard 
:e8  us  to 
3  to  the 

e  which 
ion  Pass 
jm  three 
mds,  and 
,ng  from 
)eninsula 
I  are  con- 
,led  from 
a  Pass  on 
an  reser- 
winomish 
between 
nd  before 
optics  the 

^relve  hun- 

add  to  its 

summit  of 


Mount  Erie  is  entrancing  would  be  strictly  corro(!t,  however 
trite  the  expression.  Behold  how,  far  away  south,  the  "Jupiter 
Hills"  seem  to  bathe  their  feet  in  the  waters  of  the  Strait,  sur- 
passingly beautii'iil  in  outline,  delicately  colored,  tipped  and 
rimmed  with  shining  lines  and  crests  of  snow — a  marvel  of 
aerial  effect — a  poet's  dream — a  vision  of  the  air !  Turn  from 
this  exquisite  sublimity  to  the  half  a  hundred  islands  of  the 
archipelago,  on  the  west  and  north,  each  with  its  peculiar  shape 
to  distinguish  it,  its  miniature  bays,  capes,  and  promontories,  its 
bits  of  prairie  or  forest-crowned  ridges,  but  always  picturesque. 
Turn  towards  the  east  and  see  again  Mount  Baker  and  the 
great  masses  of  forest  that  extend  from  the  summits  of  the 
Cascades  to  the  shores  of  the  Sound,  markini;  where  the  Skasrit 
winds  its  devious  way  to  its  outlet,  and  fail  to  dream  of  the 
future  which  awaits  this  region !  Do  we  need  to  hear  that  the 
Skagit  valley  is  fertile,  or  that  its  foot-hills  are  full  of  coal,  iron, 
and  other  valuable  minerals?  Prom  what  we  have  seen  of 
other  parts  of  West  Washington,  we  know  this  without  being 
told.  But  of  coui'se  we  are  told  so  by  everybody,  as  if  the 
discovery  w^ere  a  new  one.  ^      ' 

Lot  us  talk  a  little  about  the  Skagit  Eiver  region  while  it  is 
in  mind.  Although  this  river  is  the  largest  which  empties  into 
Puget  Sound,  the  remoteness  of  the  eountrj-  from  the  beaten 
track  of  commerce  caused  it  to  be  overlooked  for  settlement 
in  the  earlier  history  of  the  Sound.  Its  channel  was  obstructed 
by  frequent  "jams"  of  drift,  which  prevented  navigation  for 
more  than  a  few  miles.  But  in  1869  J.  S.  Conner  located  on  a 
rocky  bluff  at  the  southern  end  of  Swinomish  Slough,  and  com- 
menced diking  and  cultivating  the  tide-marsh-land  on  the  dolta 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Skagit.  So  successful  was  he  that  others 
soon  gathered  about  him,  and  he  laid  out  a  town  which  he 
called  La  Conner,  after  his  wife,  Louisa  Agnes  Conner,  which 
was  until  quite  recently  the  only  one  in  this  region.  It  has  now 
five  hundred  inhabitants  and  a  good  trade,  a  body  of  land  ten 
miles  long  by  three  and  a  half  in  width  being  reclaimed  by 
diking  and  converted  into  farms  where  from  one  hundred  to 
one  hundred  and  fifty  bushels  of  oats  to  the  acre  is  the  annual 
product.  This  tract  is  known  as  the  Swinomish  Flats.  South 
of  it  is  another  tract  of  five  thousand  acres,  also  redeemed,  but 


lii 


332 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


;  \\ 


i» 


m  i 


1: 


from  frcsh-wator  overflow,  at  no  great  expense.  This  is  the 
Beaver  Marsh,  and  is  just  as  productive  as  the  first  named. 
Both  of  those  tracts  have  navigable  sloughs  through  them, 
which  enable  the  farmers  to  ship  their  crops  from  the  banks. 
Wheat  and  barley  are  grown  on  these  lands,  but  the  quality  as 
well  as  quantity  of  the  oat  crop  renders  this  more  profitable. 
Hay,  fruits,  and  vegetables  make  large  returns.  Olympia  Marsh 
is  another  reclaimed  tract  north  of  a  ridge  separating  it  from 
Swinomish  Flats,  and  has  a  small  settlement  on  the  vidgo,  called 
Bay  View,  which  possesses  a  ,'rrowing  lumber-trade.  At  the 
north  end  of  Swinomish  Sloug  is  an  island  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  in  extent,  also  wliolly  reclaimed.         •  ••      '■ 

On  the  low  ground  towards  the  mouths  of  the  Skagit  spruce- 
trees  grow  and  the  earth  is  wet,  but  these  lands  also  when  re- 
claimed yield  well,  while  ten  miles  up  the  river  the  valley  when 
cleared  is  perfectly  well  adapted  to  general  farming.  The 
timber  of  the  valley  is  red  cedar  and  Douglas  fir,  the  most 
valuable  in  the  State  for  milling  purposes.  The  jams  of  drift 
have  been  removed,  and  in  their  places  are  sometimes  jams 
of  saw -logs. 

Logging-camps  were  the  first  settlements  on  the  river,  but 
there  are  now  several  incipient  towns.  The  first,  Skagit  City,  is 
at  the  point  where  the  river  divides  into  the  several  channels 
forming  the  delta,  and  is  of  little  importance.  Mount  Vernon 
is  the  county-seat,  and  was  the  pi-incipal  town  in  the  county 
before  the  rise  of  Anacortes,  with  which  it  was  recently  brought 
into  connection  by  railroad.  Sedro,  at  the  crossing  of  the 
Fairhaven  and  Southern  Kail  way,  is  simply  a  railroad  station 
whose  future  is  undetermined,  although  if  it  makes  good  use  of  its 
natural  resources,  as  vvell  as  transportation  advantages,  it  ought 
to  become  a  business  centre.  Lyman  is  prettily  situated  on  the 
river,  with  a  deep-water  frontage,  a  saw-mill,  a  general  mer- 
chandise establishment,  a  good  school-house,  and  other  signs  of 
prosperity.  It  is  also  on  the  line  of  the  Seattle  and  Northern 
Eailroad  from  Sedro  to  Anacortes. 

Above  Lyman  a  short  distance  is  Hamilton,  named  after  its 
proprietor,  William  Hamilton,  and  famous  for  having  a  large 
orchard  bearing  excellent  fruit,  and  for  being  opposite  the  iron 
mountain   mentioned    in    another  chapter  and   called    Mount 


SAN  JUAN   ARCHIPELAQO   AND   CITY   OF  THE  SEA.      333 


is  the 
mmcd. 
thorn, 
banks, 
ility  as 
filable. 
,  Marsh 
it  from 
>,  called 
At  the 
red  and 

spruco- 
k'hon  re- 
3y  when 
5.  The 
ho  most 
I  of  drift 
[les  jams 

ivcr,  but 
t  City,  is 
channels 

Vernon 

e  county 

brought 

of  the 

station 

use  of  its 

it  ought 
ed  on  the 
eral  mer- 

signs  of 
Northern 

after  its 
a  large 
3  the  iron 
d    Mount 


Columbia.  This  mountain  is  said  to  bo  filled  with  coal  on  one 
side  and  with  iron  on  the  other.  It  is  covered  with  heavy 
timber,  which  is  being  removed  to  facilitate  the  opening  of  the 
mines,  and  a  town  site  is  being  cleared,  which  will  bo  req^uired 
when  the  mines  are  opened. 

The  river  flows  with  a  twelve-miles  an-hour  current  at  this 
distance  from  the  Sound;  thirty-fivo  miles  inland  the  pat^sago 
grows  narrower  and  the  scenery  nmre  striking.  Bird  view  is  a 
pretty  spot,  where  a  water-fall  twenty-five  feet  in  width  comes 
plunging  down  from  a  height,  and  runs  the  machinery  of  a 
saw-mill.  Above  this  point  the  fall  in  the  river  increases,  and  it 
takes  iho  steamer  half  an  hour  to  pass  through  a  rocky  defile 
three  hundred  feet  in  width,  but  of  no  great  length. 

Not  far  beyond  this  pass,  Baker  River,  a  large  stream,  enters 
the  Skagit  from  the  south,  seeming  .-.carcely  to  augment  its 
volume.  Its  valky  is  heavily  timbered,  and,  if  rumor  is  correct, 
the  hills  which  bonier  it  are  stored  with  coal,  iron,  and  marble. 
On  the  north  hank  of  the  Skagit,  eight  miles  beyond  the 
junction  of  Baker  liiver,  is  Sauk  City,  at  the  mouth  of  Sauk 
fiiver,  a  stream  which  comes  down  Irom  Mount  Baker  through 
a  very  rugged  country.  Sauk  Mountain,  close  to  the  river,  is 
six  thousand  feet  in  height.  Beyond  this  point  navigation  be- 
comes difficult,  even  in  high  water,  and  at  Cascade  we  turn 
about  to  descend. 

The  Seattle  and  Northern  Railroad,  which  is  chartered  to 
build  from  Anacortes  to  Spokane,  with  a  branch  to  Seattle,  and 
which  has  already  completed  a  connection  with  the  Seattle,  Lake 
Shore  and  Eastern,  is  surveying  its  line  east  of  the  head  of 
navigation,  making  for  the  Skagit  Pass.  Until  transportation 
is  afforded  by  railway,  little  development  will  take  place  in  the 
mining  region  beyond.  ,  ,  ■  ,,,^  ■•;  ,  ,■  f;.'  ,>!  '^:,  >_..,.  ■•r  ; 
It  is  curious  to  note,  that,  whereas  we  set  out  with  the  im- 
pression that  our  route  lay  through  "  twilight  woods"  almost 
perpetuall}',  we  found  quite  a  number  of  good  farms  and  com- 
fortable farm-houses  in  the  Skagit  Valley  as  far  as  we  proceeded, 
so  rapidly  does  achievement  follow  upon  attempt  in  this  rich 
and  favored  region.  I  will  be  quite  honest,  and  say,  what  I 
think  to  be  the  truth,  that  the  very  newness  of  the  country 
helps  the  beginner  here,  by  the  absence  of  close  competition. 


It 


.iS 


i\:: 


334 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


41 


By  and  by,  when  everybody  has  found  his  place  and  settled 
down  to  stay,  the  home  market  of  the  producer  will  not  bo 
as  good  as  it  now  is  nor  the  prices  bo  high.  But  by  then  ho 
will  have  placed  himself  in  comfort,  and  need  not  worry  over 
market  prices. 

I  am  reminded  by  being  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sauk  of  a  very 
interesting  talk  I  had  with  a  gentleman  at  Olympia — Mr.  F. 
W.  Brown — before  coming  here.  Prom  him  I  learned  that  the 
scenery  on  the  Sauk,  towards  its  head,  is  of  the  wildest  descrip- 
tion. Jets  of  lava,  poured  out  in  former  ages  fi-om  Mount 
Baker,  thrust  themselves  up  through  the  main  ridge  of  the 
Cascades  where  it  is  nine  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  The 
Sauk  River  is  precipitated  over  frequent  falls  and  rapids.  A 
park — Suiatl,  pronounced  Soo-i-at — is  surrounded  b}'  basaltic 
needles  of  great  height,  and  in  it  is  found  the  red  snow  seen 
only  in  a  few  localities  on  the  globe.  Hugo  blocks  of  granite 
occur  in  tliis  region,  and  in  one  place  a  pillar  of  it  five  thou- 
sand feet  in  height.  But  the  most  curious  discovery  made  was 
of  a  caflon  coming  down  Mount  Baker  to  within  half  a  mile  of 
the  Skagit  Eiver,  formed  by  hot  lava  cutting  its  way  through 
sand  and  limestone,  and  turning  the  sides  of  the  cafion  thus 
formed  to  obsidian.  This  volcanic  glass  is  blue  and  green  in 
color,  and  veiy  brittle.  There  is  a  field  here  for  the  scientist 
and  the  tourist,  which  is  waiting  only  until  railroads  make  it 
reasonabl}-  easj'  to  approach. 

To  return  to  the  archipelago.     In  cruising  about  among  these 

islands  one  is  irresistibly  reminded  of  Homer.     Here   might 

have  been  enacted  the  scenes  of  the  Odyssey.      There  is  the 

same  idyllic  simplicity,  and  even  the  same  occupations  of  the 

people,  who  in  the  San  Juan  group  are  often  of  Canadian  or 

North-of-Europe   stock.      These  islands  are   indeed  preferable 

to  the 

•'  .     ,  ,.  .    "  Isles  of  Greece  ,..»,■.■,. 

,       Where  burning  Sappho  loved  and  sung,"  ■  .■  ^ 

on  account  of  the  forestry  upon  them. 

The  San  Juan  group  numbers  thirty  or  more  islands,  large 
and  small,  containing  together  two  hundred  and  fifty  square 
miles.  The  greatest  elevation  is  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
excluding  Mount  Dallas,  on  San  Juan,  which  is  ten  hundred 


:^.^*^AiM-»»i^^^:^ 


SAN   JUAN   ARCHIPELAGO   AND  CITY   OF  THE  SEA.      335 


)ttlO(l 

ot  be 

)n  ho 

over 

I  very 
tfr.  F. 
at  the 
iscrip- 
Mount 
of  the 
.    The 
drt.     A 
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w  seen 
granite 
0  thou- 
tdo  was 
mile  of 
through 
on  thus 
recn  in 
jcientist 
make  it 


njr  these 
might 
e  in  the 
IS  of  the 
adian  or 
eforable 


ids,  large 
;y  square 
fiy  feet, 
hundred 


and  oiglity  feet,  and  Mount  Constitution,  on  Orcas,  which  is  two 
thousand  five  hundred  feet  in  Iioight.  San  Juan,  since  the  days 
when  tlie  American  collector  had  the  unpleasant  episode  witii 
the  swineherd,  has  enjoyed  a  profitable  trade  in  lirae,  of  which 
thirty-eight  lliousand  barrels  are  annually  exported.  There  are 
forty-two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety-six  acres  of  im- 
proved land  in  the  group;  but  stock-raising  rather  than  farming 
is  the  business  of  the  inhabitants. 

Orcas  Island  is  the  most  modernized  of  the  group,  having,  as 
well  as  San  Juan,  several  lime  companies,  all  doing  a  good  busi- 
ness ;  a  lumber  company,  two  brick-yards,  and  other  manufac- 
tories. A  few  years  ago  hotels  and  summer  boarding-houses 
were  erected  on  this  island,  with  the  purpose  of  attracting 
visitors  and  building  up  towns.  But  since  the  I'ailroad  era 
dawned  upon  the  Sound,  the  Orcas  Island  people  have  taken  to 
fruit-growing,  which  promises  to  be  a  great  business  on  these 
isles.  They  have  organized  a  Fruit-Growers'  Association;  and, 
since  I  know  by  actual  test  that  the  fruit  of  all  the  northwest 
part  of  Washington  is  superior  in  flavor,  I  hereby  desire  to 
advertise  the  fact  for  the  benefit  of  all  whom  it  may  concern. 
The  head-quarters  of  the  Orcas  Fruit-Growers'  Association  is 
at  East  Sound.  Under  the  auspices  of  this  society  fruits  will 
be  packed  and  8hii)ped  in  the  most  careful  manner,  and  guaran- 
teed to  purchasers.  The  secretary  also  will  undertake  to  find 
tracts  of  from  ten  to  twenty  acres,  suitable  for  fruit-raising, 
for  those  who  desire  to  enter  into  this  sesthetic  branch  of  agri- 
cultural life. 

Summer  apples  raised  hero  bring,  at  the  wharf,  eighty-five 
cents  to  one  dollar  per  box  holding  about  half  a  bushel.  Winter 
apples  bring  from  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  to  one  dollar 
and  seventy-five  cents,  and  keeping  apples  for  spring  market 
still  higher.  Pears  bring  from  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  to  two 
dollars  per  box.  Apricots  bring  eight  and  a  half  cents  per  pound, 
prunes  for  the  drying-houso  three  and  a  half  cents  per  pound. 
Strawberries  and  blackberries  sell  for  ten  cents  a  pound.  The 
most  luscious  peaches  are  g'rown  among  the  mountains  of  the 
islands.  Cherries  produce  wonderful  crops,  and  so  with  melons 
and  vegetables.  Why  should  not  one  love  to  publish  this 
Arcadian  region  to  the  world?    Poets  not  yet  born  will  sing  of 


i 


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it,  and  when  a  thousand  years  from  now  orators  shall  soek  to 
embellish  their  speech,  it  will  not  be  by  reference  to  Greece,  but 
to  these  far  western  isles,  the  new  Atlantis  discovered  by  a 
Greek  navigator. 

Like  the  Greeks,  these  islanders  have  fish  in  ple'ntv  and  fish 
will  always  be  counted  riraong  their  resources.  Twenty  tons 
of  halibut  have  been  taken  in  one  day  by  a  single  boat.  Game 
is  still  plentiful  in  the  hills,  w';Iie  the  bays  and  sloughs  swarm 
with  diicks,  geese,  and  brant.  The  farm  productions  sent  to 
market,  bes'dos  fruit  are  chiefly  mutton,  hay,  oats,  cheese,  and 
butter. 

Talking  about  fish  and  fowl  reminds  me  of  the  comical  habits 
of  that  absurd  bird  the  crow,  whose  numbers  on  the  beach  any- 
where from  the  Columbia  to  the  British  boundary  are  immense. 
They  swarm  on  theeo  island  beaches  when  the  tide  is  out,  and 
fish  for  clams.  Seizing  their  game,  they  mount  high  in  the  air 
and  drop  the  bivalve  upon  the  rocks  to  break  the  shell,  when 
they  proceed  to  make  a  meal  off  the  contents.  When  pigs 
running  wild  root  for  clams,  the  crows  roost  on  their  backs 
until  a  clam  is  turned  up,  and,  just  as  the  shell  is  cracked  by 
the  pig,  will  dart  down,  seize  the  moUusk,  an!  retire  to  de- 
vour it. 

The  importance  of  this  archipelago  to  the  State  of  Washing- 
ton is  suggested  by  the  above  observations.  L3ing  at  the  head 
of  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  the  only  maritime  entrance  to  the  gieat 
inland  sea  improperly  called  a  sound,  it  is  upon  a  naval  depot 
in  this  vicinity  that  the  defence  of  the  interior  depends.  The 
United  States,  having  weakly  yielded  the  island  of  Vancouver 
to  the  British  government,  must  maintain  offensive  and  defensive 
establishments  at  least  equal  to  those  of  Great  Britain,  and 
8uflScien<-  to  guard  the  Sound  coasts  against  intrusion  by  any 
ibr'MgTi  power. 

It  is  intereslng  to  know  that  the  man  who  first  gave  signs 
of  comprehending  the  significance  of  the  archipelago  at  the  head 
of  the  Fuca  Strait  was  by  birth  a  British  srbject,  by  education 
an  American,  an<l  by  name  Amos  Bowman.  He  had  been  a 
reporter  for  the  New  York  Tribune  during  the  civil  war,  had 
studied  medicine  and  engineering,  had  assisted  in  surveying  the 
boundary  between  California  and  Nevada,  and  been  reporter  for 


i»wtziHi!!affi 


"^'^-^  '■■■" 


'-'•"-'•  - 


T^i 


SAN    JUAN   ARCHIPELAGO   AND   CITY   OF   THE   SEA.      337 


It's 


:o  signs 

0  head 

iication 

been  a 

ar,  had 

ing  the 

jvter  for 


the  California  Legislature,  before  he  finally  went  to  Munich  to 
complete  his  engineering  studios.  AVliile  in  Europe  he  reported 
the  news  of  t)io  Franco-Prussian  war  for  the  Neic  York  Tribune, 
travelling  extensively  in  Russia,  Sweden,  and  Norway  before 
returning  to  Californ  ■.,  where  he  married  Miss  Annie  Cortes, 
a  lady  perfectly  suited  to  afford  companionship  to  a  mind  so 
broadly  cultured. 

In  1876  Mr.  Bowman  explored  on  tho  line  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific,  becoming  tiiereby  well  acquainted  with  the  country 
on  both  sides  of  the  international  boundary,  and  asked  Mrs. 
Bowman  to  select  some  spot  in  the  Fucan  Archipelago  where 
she  would  consent  to  establish  a  home.  This  >he  did,  and  Mr. 
Bowman  purchased  a  quarter  section  of  land  on  the  northeast 
corner  of  Fidalgo  Island,  built  a  house  to  reside  in  and  a  trading- 
house, — for  the  exchequer  bad  to  be  looked  after, — asked  the 
Post  office  Department  to  establish  an  office  for  the  Island  at  his 
place,  and  to  call  it  Anacortes,  which  prayer  was  granted,  and 
then  set  about  unfolding  hie  views. 

The  manner  of  doing  this  was  exceedingly  painstaking,  and 
required  the  courage  of  conviction.  There  were  but  few  inhabi- 
tants on  the  island,  and  seldom  any  visitors  to  it,  yet  Mr.  Bow- 
man published  a  newspajier.  lie  made  and  published  elaborate 
mapSj  showing  the  position  of  Fidalgo  Island  to  the  wi^ole 
w^orld,  demonstrating  the  relation  of  Anacoites  to  transconti- 
nental and  oceanic  travel  and  traffic,  showing  that  it  was  the 
shortest,  quickest,  and  least  "  pensive  route  between  Great 
Britain  and  Asia,  via  New  \(.vk,  the  Great  Lakes,  Chicago, 
Duluth,  Spokane  Falls  to  Anacortes  and  the  Strait  of  Fuca. 
He  represented  clearly  tho  local  advantages  of  Anacortes  over 
an}'  port  on  the  Sound  b}  careful  measurement  and  lucid  illus- 
tration. These  maps — large,  colored,  and  with  full  explanations 
— were  sent  free  or  as  '"prizes"  to  subscribers  and  newspaper 
exchanges.  By  and  b}'  they  began  to  awaken  attention,  and 
about  ten  years  from  the  time  Mr.  Bowman  settled  upon  Fidalgo 
Island  ho  vras  receiving  propositions  from  railroad  companies 
which  sought  to  make  Anacortes  a  terminal  point.  In  January, 
1890,  there  were  not  twenty  inhabitants  in  this  place;  in  Febru- 
ary, when  the  Oregon  Improvement  Company  advertised  that 
it  would   sell  lots,  there  were  three  thousand  people  on   the 

22 


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if 


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I » 


I 

It, 

ft" 


338 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


.i^rouinl.  The  Seattle  and  Northern  Eailroad  was  immediately 
built  to  the  coal-mines  of  the  Skacrlt  Vallev  at  Hamilton.  The 
Union  Pacific  graded  a  few  miles,  and  iransferred  its  rights  to 
the  Northern  Pacific,  which  for  the  present  uses  the  track  of 
the  Seattle,  Lake  Shore  and  Eastern  from  Sedro  to  Seattle, 
giving  Anacortes  connection  with  Queen  City  hefore  the  end  of 
the  first  year  of  its  history  as  a  town.  The  Seattle,  Lake  Shore 
and  Eastern  Eoad  will  bo  extended  to  a  connection  with  the 
Canadian  Pacific  in  a  few  months,  giving  Anacortes  as  well 
as  Seattle  a  terminus,  which,  with  the  Seattle  and  Northern, 
connecting  with  the  Great  Northern  at  Spokane,  will  give  the 
City  of  the  Sea  three  transcontinental  roads  alnost  from  the 
first.  These,  with  first-class  steamers  running  to  all  points  on 
the  Sound,  to  Victoria,  and  to  San  Francisco,  leave  the  traveller 
free  to  go  where  he  lists,  the  world  being  literally  "all  before 
him  where  to  choose." 

Of  the  local  advantage^*  of  Anacortes,  one  is  that  all  the  rivers 
of  that  part  of  Washington  east  of  the  Fuca  Sea  and  Strait 
have  their  valleys  opening  towards  Fidalgo  Island,  hence  their 
products  should  naturall}  centre  here.  These  are  the  Snohomish, 
Stillaguamish,  Skagit,  Samish,  and  Nooksahk.  The  Samish  — 
the  smallest  of  them  all,  running  into  the  soutii  end  of  Belling- 
hara  Bay — furnished  from  six  logging-camps  last  year  ten  mil- 
lion six  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  feet  of  lumber  to  the  mills 
of  Pugct  Sound,  which  was  but  a  small  percentage  of  the  lum- 
ber production  iVom  the  camps  in  this  region.  One  camp  on 
the  Skagit  marketed  in  une  3  ear  nine  million  feet,  the  price  rang- 
ing from  six  dollars  and  fifty  cents  to  seven  dollars  per  thousand. 
There  is  wealth  for  you.  Then  follow  all  other  kinds  of  wealth, 
—  minei'al,  agricnlfural,  manufacturing, — and  the  market  for 
these  is  all  the  world,  because  the  shipping  of  all  the  world 
comes  here 

Ag!  in,  Anacor*^e8  places  great  stress  upon  the  nnperioiity  of 
Ship  Harbor.  The  tidal  currents  in  the  channel  in  front  of  the 
city  are  about  three  knots  an  hour, — never  four, — whereas  the 
tidal  currents  of  New  York  and  San  Francisco  are  w/  knotn, 
In  the  inner  harbors  of  Fidalgo  and  Padilla  Bays  tb<>  '.(i/rant* 
are  very  gentle,  and  these  bays  have  deop-v,ater  branches 
ultimately  to  be  converted  into  Blip  harbor?,  the  best  of  all, 


AIRHAVEN   AND   BELLINGHAM    BAY. 


539 


with  unlimited  room.  Swinomish  Slough,  which  is  navigable 
for  largo  vessels  only  at  high  tide,  is  to  bo  deepened,  when  it 
will  afford  a  passage  from  the  south  into  Padilla  Bay. 

Sailing-masters  find  the  prevailing  winds  of  tlie  countrj'  to 
be  from  the  southeast  and  northwest.  Both  are  fair  winds  into 
Ship  Harbor  and  out  of  it.  Ships  requii"e  no  towing,  but  Bail 
up  to  their  docks  unaided,  and  such  is  the  depth  of  water  that 
the  largest  vessel  afloat  need  not  fear  to  do  so. 

The  present  permanent  jwpulation  of  Anacortes  is  two  thou- 
sand two  hundred  and  fifty.  At  the  end  of  the  first  year  it  had 
cleared  two  thousand  acres  of  forest,  graded  and  planked  ten 
miles  of  streets,  completed  a  system  of  Avater- works,  built  three 
saw-mills,  a  sash-  and  door-factory,  an  iron-foundry  and  ma- 
chine shop,  blacksmith-  and  wagon-shops,  a  steam-laundry,  a 
ship  yard,  eleven  miles  of  electi'ic-raihvay  (almost  completed), 
four  railroad  depots,  four  hotels,  five  handsome  brick  blocks, 
and  expended  altogether  in  building  improvements  over  half  a 
million  dollars,  besides  another  quarter  of  a  million  in  wharves 
and  wai'ehouses.  It  has  two  newspaper  establishments  and 
good  public  schools.  Banks  and  other  moneyed  institutions  are 
on  the  ground  doing  a  good  business. 

Such  is  Anacortes,  the  Venice  of  the  Pacific.  I  shall  often 
throw  down  my  pen  to  dream  of  that  matchless  sea,  over  which 
she  elects  to  preside  and  over  which  I  floated  in  June  days, 
taking  mental  photographs  which  cannot  fade,  in  company  with 
the  kindest  of  entertainers. 


CHAPTEE    XXVII. 

FAIRHAVEN   AND   BELLINGHAM    BAT. 

Lfaving  Anacortep  «»arly  in  the  afternoon  by  a  fine  steamer,  I 
had  a  delightful  voyage  tu  Faii'haven,  another  new  town  on 
Bellingbarn  Bay.  Of  Bellinghum  Bay,  as  a  coal-mining  port  in 
years  past,  I  bad  ofUm  beard,  the  first  coal  ever  mined  in  Wash- 
ington coming  from  here.  The  discovery  was  made  by  William 
Pattie,  a  British  subject,  in  1852,  who  spoke  of  it  to  Henry 


'  'd 


*  if:' 


P™1 


ust.  iwiirr»ii 


340 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


i:-l; 


Eoeder  and  Eussell  V.  Peabody,  whom  he  met  at  Olympia. 
Roeder  was  of  German  birth  but  brought  up  in  the  United 
States,  while  Peabody  was  frojii  Ohio.  They  had  been  in  Cali- 
fornia together,  and  now  determined,  after  hearing  Pattle'f* 
account  of  the  country,  to  go  to  Bellingham  Bay,  and  erect  a 
saw-mill,  which  they  did,  on  Whatcom  Creek.  They  also  took 
donation  claims,  on  one  of  which  coal  was  found  in  1854,  sixty- 
five  tons  of  which  were  sent  to  San  Francisco  to  be  tested,  and 
found  merchantable.  From  that  time  until  the  Seattle  Mines 
were  opened  this  was  the  only  coal  mined  in  Washington. 
About  ISry  the  mine  caught  fire  and  was  flooded,  since  which 
time  it  has  lain  idle. 

The  town  of  Whatcom  was  laid  off  on  Boeder's  land  while 
the  Fraser  River  mining  excitement  was  at  white  he;  in  1857, 
and  at  one  time  contained  ten  tliousand  people,  but  rm  order  of 
Governor  Douglas  turning  tratTlc  to  Victoria  caused  it  to  be 
deserted,  and  all  the  better  buildings  to  be  removed  to  that  place, 
which  acquired  thereby  a  very  American  growth  and  appear- 
ance for  an  English  town.  A  single  brick  house  remained, 
which  was  converted  to  county  purposes. 

Whatcom  remained  uninhabited,  except  by  its  owners  and 
the  coal  company,  until  1870,  when  the  Northern  Pacific,  look- 
ing for  a  terminus,  purchased  all  the  land  which  could  be 
obtained  fronting  on  the  bay, — however,  not  including  Whatcom. 
In  1882,  a  Kansas  colony  numbering  six  hundred  fixing  upon 
this  locality,  the  ownei'S  of  the  town-site  agreed  to  donate  a 
half-interest  in  the  town  if  the  colony  would  settle  there,  but 
subsequently  refused  to  make  good  their  contract,  when  the 
colonists  laid  off  a  town  for  themselves  called  New  Whatcom,  or 
Bellingham,  while  others  settled  at  Sehome,  botAveen  the  two. 

The  population  of  tiie  three  places  continued  to  be  insig- 
nificant until  1889.,  when  Fairliavon  was  taken  in  hand  by  a 
company  of  which  Mr.  Nelson  Bennet,  the  contractor  who 
constructed  the  Northern  Pacific's  great  tunnel  through  the 
Cascade  Mountains,  was  president,  and  C.  X.  Larrabeo,  of  Mon- 
tana, vice-president. 

I  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  fi-om  a  monograph  published 
by  the  Fairhaven  Chamber  of  Commerce,  describing  the  methods 
pursued  in  founding  new  cities,  and  particularly  Fairhaven  : 


FAIRHAVEN   AND   BELLINGHAM   BAY. 


341 


mpia. 
nitud 
,  Cali- 

ivect  a 
)  took 
sixty- 
d,  and 
Mines 
mgton. 
whicli 

I  while 
n  1857, 
rdcr  of 
t  to  be 
it  place, 
appeai*- 
imained, 

lers  and 
ilc,  look- 
ould   be 
'^hatcom. 
ing  upon 
ionate  a 
lere,  but 
rhon  the 
itcom,  or 
le  two. 
be  insig- 
ud  by  a 
3tor  who 
>ugh   the 
'^,  of  Mon- 

published 
methode 
kaven : 


"Minors  were  sent  into  the  mountains  to  search  for  coal  and 
iron-ore  and  veins  of  silver,  load,  and  gold-bearing  ores.     En- 
gineers with  barometers  strapped  to  their  backs  were  ordered 
into  the  highlands  to  search  for  railroad  routes.     Timber  ex- 
aminers were  ordered  to  examine  the  forests  that  stand  between 
the  rugged   flanks  of  tlie  Cascade  Eange  and  the  waters  of 
Puget  Sound  to  estimate  the  probable  amount  of  marketable 
lumber  they  contr.ined.     Other  men  were  sent  to  watch  the 
sweep  of  the  tides   through   narrow  passages  and  to  examine 
liarbors.    Presently  gaunt  men,  toil-worn  and  haggard,  and  who 
carried  burdens  on  their  backs,  emerged  from  the  forests  and 
stood  on  steamboat-landings.     This  man  carried  silvei'-ore,  that 
man  iron-ore,  and  yonder  was  a  man  who  was  blackened  with 
coal-dust,  and  the  sack  that  hung  heavily  over  his  back  contained 
coking  coal.     That  grouji  of  worn,  tired-eyed  men  with  intelli- 
gent faces  were  engineers  from  mountuin-piisses.    Farther  down 
stood  men  the  pockets  of  whose  canvas  jackets  bulged  with  note- 
books that  were  stuffed  with  informatioa  relative  to  the  value 
of  the  timber  and  the  character  of  the  soil  of  several  counties. 
From  out  of  forests,  floating  down  rivers  in  canoes,  from  off 
the  rapid  tide-water,  out  of  mountain-posses,  from  tlie  plains 
east  of  the  Cascade  Range,  from  probable  town-sites,  men  hur- 
ried to  Tacoma  and  to  Nelson  Bennett's  ofHce.    The  information 
was  gathered.    It  was  attentively  studied,  laboriously  compared, 
and  thoroughly  digested.     Maps  were  drawn  and  the  resources 
of  the  region   examined   were  marked   on   them.     Slowly  the 
evidence  was  sifted.     This  point  was  rejected  because  of  the 
harbor,  that  because  the  land  directly  tributary  was  uot  .irable 
when  cleared,  and  another  because  it  was  too  far  from  coal  and 
iron.     It  was  finally  decided  that  the  new  city  should  be  built 
on  the  shores  t)f  Belliiigham  Bay.     When  this  conclusion  was 
arrived  at,  to  act  followed  instantly.     An  extensive  tract  of  land 
was  bought  for  a  largo  sum.     A  cily  was  laid  out.     Engineers 
located  a  railroad  that  extends  from  Fairhaven  to  New  West- 
minster in  British  Columbia,  and  from  Fairhaven  to  >i  point  far 
east  of  the  Cascade  Mountains,     llundreds  of  men  began  I  »  fell 
trees  aiid  to  shovel  dirt  along  the  railroad  lino.   Other  men  cleared 
the  timbei'  oflf  of  the  town-site  and  buined  it.      Streets  were 
graded  and  town-U^lH  offered  for  sale.     Steel  rails,  locomotives, 


m 


m 


=i?rf 


m 


If' 


il! 


M 


I   fc       MI. 

t     I  ■         1  1 


342 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


and  cars  were  bought,  and  in  two  months  from  the  time  the 
first  blow  was  struck  at  Fairhaven,  which  was  in  May,  1889, 
trains  of  cars  were  running  into  and  out  of  the  town." 

That  is  the  story  in  a  nutshell,  of  the  founding  of  cities  by 
the  intelligence  of  this  ago. 

Belliiighani  Buy  does  not  differ  greatly  in  appearance  from 
the  bay  at  Seattle.  In  front  of  Fairhaven,  which  is  about 
seventeen  miles  due  north,  and  a  little  east  of  Anacortes,  is  a 
narrow  peninsula  similar  to  that  on  which  West  Seattle  is  situ- 
ated, Avhich  is  occupied  as  a  reservation  by  the  Lummi  Indians, 
and  Lumnii  Island,  extending  a  few  iniles  south  of  the  penin- 
sula. The  town-site  slopes  down  hand.soniely  to  the  bay,  pre- 
senting an  attractive  view  to  the  passenger  on  the  incoming 
steamer,  which  is  enhanced  Ijy  the  character  of  the  buildings 
already  completed  and  in  course  of  erection,  some  of  which  are 
surprisingly  ornate  for  the  size  and  age  of  the  town. 

Mount  Baker,  with  its  bx'okon  cone,  and  family  of  lesser  peaks 
about  it,  lies  almost  dii  ectly  east  from  Fairhaven,  and  is  a  noble 
object  with  its  ten  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ten  feet  of  height 
overtopping  the  darkly-mantled  Cascade  Range.  The  scenic 
altractions  of  Fairhaven  and  the  other  Bellingham  Bay  towns 
are  fully  as  great  as  any  of  the  cities  farther  on  Puget  Sound, 
and  its  natural  x'esources  appeared  to  me  to  be  almost  identical 
with  those  of  Anacortes,  except  in  the  matter  of  distance  from 
the  Strait  and  length  of  water-front.  Vessels  require  no  towing 
to  the  wharves  of  either.  The  same  valleys  are  tributary  to 
both,  the  same  iron,  coal,  and  marble  deposits,  the  same  timber, 
and  the  same  fisheries.  It  rains  a  little  more  at  Fairhaven  than 
at  the  head  of  the  Strait,  but  only  about  half  as  much  us  ai 
Olyinpia,  and  the  temperature  is  perhaps  a  Irlllo  less  mild, 
though  flowers  bloom  every  month  of  the  year  in  the  open 
air. 

The  Nooksahk  River  empties  into  the  north  end  of  Belling- 
ham Bay,  and  therefore  is  more  dii-ectly  tributary  to  the  towns 
upon  it  than  elsewhere.  The  valley  of  this  river  is  very  exten- 
sive, stretching  from  British  Columbia  to  Whatcom,  south,  and 
embracing  a  scope  of  country  fifi}'^  miles  in  width  due  east  of 
Bellingham  Bay.  The  timber  being  removed,  the  soil  produces 
everything  entrusted  to  it  in  marvellous  abundance, — as,  ibr  in- 


rt.'        -vi  '/ 


FAIRHAVEN   AND   BELLINGHAM    BAY. 


343 


le  the 

,  1889, 

ies  by 

b  from 

about 
es,  is  a 
is  situ- 
ndians, 

penin- 
ay,  pre- 
coming 
uildings 
lich  are 

)!•  peaks 
,  a  noble 
f  height 
e  Bcenio 
(,y  towns 
t  Sound, 
identical 
ice  from 
0  towing 
lutary  to 
13  timber, 
ven  than 
ich  »9  at 
loss  mild, 
the  open 

'  Belling- 
he  towns 
ry  exten- 
outh,  and 
0  east  of 
produces 
-as,  for  in- 


stance, one  hundred  ruta-bagas  of  best  average  size,  raised  near 
Lyndon,  on  the  Nooksahk,  weighed  two  thousand  pounds.  It 
is  excellently  adapted  to  fruit  and  hops,  as  well  as  grass,  grain, 
and  vegetables. 

The  mineral  resources  of  the  Nooksahk  are  ^et  undeveloped, 
but  are  understood  to  be  iron,  coal,  copper,  lead,  and  silver. 
There  is  abundance  of  water-power.  The  country  is  generally 
level  and  not  rocky,  with  soft,  pure  spi'ing-water  in  abundance. 
All  this  is,  of  course,  very  valuable,  and  is  for  him  who  comes 
and  takes  it. 

There  are  many  interesting  resorts  about  Fairhaven.  Lake 
Whaccom,  two  and  a  half  miles  east  of  Belli  ngham  Bay,  is  an 
irregularly-shaped  lake,  eleven  miles  long  by  one  and  a  half  in 
width,  of  cold  clear  water  over  one  thousand  feet  in  depth  in 
the  centre.  Its  shores  slope  gently,  and  towards  the  east  merge 
in  the  mountains  five  tho^'sand  feet  above.  A  summer  hotel  is 
erected  at  Silver  Bc.'.Ci),  k.  c  north  end  of  the  lake,  with  a 
boat-house  and  other  encouragements  to  visitors.  On  its  west 
bank  is  the  pretty  new  town  of  Geneva,  and  on  its  waters  the 
steamer  of  that  name,  which  carries  pkiasure-seeker.s  from  one 
end  to  the  other.  In  its  Avaters  trout  are  abundant.  It  is  said 
that  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  lake  gold,  silver,  coal,  and 
fire-clay  have  been  found  in  situ,  and,  if  true,  the  best  feature  of 
the  lake  for  a  pleasure-resort,  its  seclusion,  will  be  destroyed. 
The  outlet  of  this  lake  is  Whatcom  Creek,  which  runs  into  the 
bay. 

On  the  shore  of  Lummi  Island  is  Smugglers'  Cuve,  a  tiny 
harbor  with  a  spring  and  water-fall,  overhung  by  beetling  crags 
and  lofty  firs,  but,  best  of  all,  with  a  legend  belonging  to  it,  of 
a  smuggler  who  took  hiding  here  from  the  revenue  officers,  but 
being  pursued  climbed  up  the  dizzy  precipice  and  was  never 
heard  of  more.  The  rest  of  the  story  is  loft  to  the  imagination 
of  the  hearer. 

One  of  the  curiosities  of  Lummi  Island  is  the  Devil's  Slide, 
a  vein  of  nearly  white  sandstone  of  a  shaly  formation,  one 
hundi-ed  feet  in  width  and  thirteen  hundred  feet  in  height, 
which  lies  on  the  side  of  a  mountain  at  an  inclination  which 
causes  every  detached  scale  to  slide  down  into  the  bay.  As 
scales  are  detached  every  few  minutes,  the  query  is,  when  will 


5*f 


iii 

mm, 


w^ 


iimiBH 


iH 


344 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


this  disintegration,  which  has  been  going  on  time  out  of  mind, 
cease,  and  the  vein  be  exhausted  ? 

On  Eliza  Island,  in  the  bay,  is  a  chicken-hatchery,  which 
turns  out  one  thousand  per  week  during  the  season.  Vendori 
Island,  a  high,  rocky,  and  picturesque  Hplintcr  of  earth  set  in 
the  waters  just  where  it  ])roduces  the  most  beautiful  effect 
against  the  sky  and  tlic  far-off  shore  line,  is  a  sheep  rancho. 

Chuckanut  Bay,  on  the  east  shore  of  the  greater  bay,  three 
miles  south  of  Fairhuven,  is  the  site  of  the  famous  sandstone 
quarry,  uj)on  which  all  the  cities  of  the  coast  have  at  times  had 
to  draw  for  building-slone.  It  is  i)i  the  side  of  a  precipice, 
and  the  people  who  live  about  the  quarry  are  almost  as  isolated 
by  their  elevation  as  ':he  cliff-dwellers  of  Arizona. 

Sehome  and  Whatcom  are  so  near  together,  and  so  near  to 
Fairhaven,  that  all  are  in  effect  one  city,  although  under  differ- 
ent municipal  governments.  Whatcom  is  the  county-seat,  and 
has  a  fine  court-house.  The  streets  are  full  of  busy  people,  and 
the  town  has  a  substantial  and  respectable  air,  as  becomes  its 
age,  though,  truth  to  say,  this  appearance  has  been  but  recently 
put  on.  Sehome  has  two  large  hotels, — the  "Sehome"  and  the 
"  Grand  Central." 

Fail-haven,  although  so  young,  has  four  thousand  and  thirty- 
one  inhabitants.  Its  linost  hotel  is  the  "  Fairhaven,"  built  of 
brick  and  stone,  well  situated,  with  a  fine  view  of  the  harbor. 
It  has  an  excellent  system  of  water-works,  four  banks,  two 
newspapers,  electric  light  service,  telegraph  and  telephone  com- 
municiiiion,  three  churches  completed,  and  othurs  building,  good 
schools,  saw-mills,  brick-yards,  and  factories.  It  has  a  railroad 
being  built  to  connect  with  the  Westminster  Southern,  and 
through  that  with  the  Canau  m  Ij*aclf}u  at  Blaine  (Fairhaven 
and  Northern,  opened  in  Febrv  U-y,  1811 1  j.  Tlu!  Fairhaven  and 
Soutlieru  is  also  being  construi  ted,  which  is  making  for  the  coal- 
mines in  the  Skagit  Valley,  crossing  the  I'lvol'  ili  Hodro,  proceed- 
ing south  to  Seattle  to  connect  with  the  Northern  Pacific,  and 
also  building  east  up  the  Skagit  to  the  coal  ,  marble  ,  granllo-, 
and  silver  mines  in  that  direction,  and  ultimately  to  go  to 
S|)okano. 

Foi't  Bellingham,  a  stone  f\n%  built  in  1856  by  Captain  Pickett, 
who  became  a  general  in  the  Confederate  array,  Is  situated  about 


PAIRHAVEN   AND   BELLINGHAM   BAY. 


345 


thirty - 
>uilt  of 
hai'bor. 
iB,  two 
no  corn- 
good 
ailroad 
n,  and 
r haven 
on  and 
he  coal- 
roceed- 
lic,  and 
^i-aiilii!-) 

I'ickett, 
id  about 


three  miles  from  Whatcom,  on  the  shore  of  the  bay.  Thoro 
are  several  settlements,  of  small  importance  at  present,  on  the 
Nooksahk  River:  Lummi,  at  the  mouth;  Fonidale,  just  above 
the  Lummi  River,  the  northern  outlet  of  tlic  NooksahU  ;  Nook- 
sahk post-office;  and  Lynden,  on  the  line  of  the  Fairhaven  and 
Northern,  a  growing  town  in  a  rich  agricultural  rei,don.  Yeager 
and  Licking  are  small  places  in  the  valley,  where  the  people  can 
purchase  necessary  articles  and  get  tlieir  mail. 

On  the  coast,  and  within  two  miles  of  the  international 
boundary,  is  Seinahimoo,  on  the  west  side  of  Drayton  Harbor; 
and  on  the  east  side,  touching  the  line,  is  the  new  city  of  Blaine, 
the  twin  of  a  town  of  the  same  name  on  the  British  Columbia 
side.  The  twin  towns  act  together  in  the  most  friendly  manner, 
and  are  assuming  considerable  importance  ijs  the  terminus  of 
the  Westminster  Southern  Railroad  and  starting-point  of  a  line 
being  surveyed  to  Lynden,  Whatcom,  and  Spokane  Falls.  But 
being  pressed  for  time,  I  abandoned  my  intention  of  proceeding 
as  far  north  as  Blaine  and  Westminster,  and,  taking  steamer 
again  at  Fairhaven,  returned  to  Seattle. 

As  one  floats  for  a  hundred  miles  upon  these  placid  w.'iters, 
always  in  sight  of  beauty  and  of  positive  if  undeveloped  wealth,  it 
is  impossible  not  to  see  that  there  is  a  great  deal  in  the  daims 
put  forth  by  the  people  of  this  northwest  coast  concerning  its 
relation  to  the  commerce  of  the  world.  Already  Alaska  is 
demanding  recognition  of  its  commerce  and  mines.  A  few 
years  ago  one  steamer  a  month  sufficed  for  its  trade ;  now  it 
requires  one  every  week.  Railroads  are  projected,  and  will  be 
built,  to  connect  the  Pacific  States  with  Asia,  across  Behring's 
Strait.  Already  commercial  men  are  watching  and  waiting  for 
the  completion  o'"  the  Nicaragua  Canal  to  shape  by  it  new  lines 
of  transportation. 

The  Pacific  front  of  our  republic,  extending  from  ocean  to 
ocean,  is  to  play  a  great  part  in  the  world's  history,  and  it  is 
well  fur  the  founders  to  stud\-  the  situation.  The  great  effort 
ot  to-day  is  to  eccjnomize  time  and  obliterate  space.  The  hand 
(hat  from  this  new  West  reaches  out  farthest  towards  the  oldest 
KnBt  will  grasp  the  prize.  Why  should  not  these  thoughts 
suggest  what  these  waters  will  in  time  resemble,  when  palaces 
shall  be  reflected  in  their  margin.^,  and  the  white-winged  mes- 


i  v.i'l 


m 


l!fi 


346 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


songors  of  commerce  shall  glide  continually  from  point  to  point 
of  those  now  fir-clad  slopes,  laden  with  the  pi-ecious  cargoes  of 
the  Orient,  making  this  northern  sea  a  second  Bosphorus  for 
beauty  and  magnificence  ? 


!     fi 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 


il 


QHMPSES   OF   THE   INLAND   EMPIRE. 

The  Northern  Pacific,  which  transports  you  to  Pasco  or 
Wallula  Junction,  according  to  your  destination,  whether  it  be 
Spokane  or  Walla  Walla,  first  has  to  elevate  you  two  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  eighty  five  feet  to  the  great  tunnel  one  thou- 
sand and  ninety -five  feet  lower  than  the  summit  of  Stampede 
Pass. 

The  scener}'  along  Green  River  is  wild  in  the  extreme,  making 
one  "  pity  the  sorrows  of  the  poor  old  man" — who  of  course 
was  a  young  one — who  engineered  the  line  of  this  road.  To 
the  terrible  grandeur  of  the  scenery  are  added  here  and  there 
glimpses  of  a  milder  foim  of  beauty,  but  the  general  impression 
given  by  the  western  blope  of  the  mountains  is  that  the  ascent 
is  very  abrupt.  After  passing  the  great  tunnel,  the  change  in 
the  appearance  of  the  mountains  is  the  same  which  we  notice  in 
passing  through  the  gap  of  the  Columbia, — the  disappearance 
of  the  firs,  the  longer  slopes  of  the  ridges,  and  the  substitution 
of  pine  timber  for  the  fii',  which  gradually  disappeai's. 

The  Stamj)ede  tunnel  is  two  miles  in  length.  It  cost  a  great 
deal  of  brain-work,  as  well  as  manual  labor  and  money.  A 
portion  of  it  is  lined  with  cement,  to  prevent  the  disintegration 
of  the  earth  above,  by  the  action  of  the  air.  Few  people,  I 
fancy,  in  passing  through  it  realize  that  they  are  one  thousand 
feet  underground. 

Just  north  of  the  Stampede  Pass  the  Yakima  River  has  its 
source  in  three  small  lakes, — Kitchelas,  Kalichass,  and  Cle-ee-lum, 
and  the  railroad  follows  down  this  stream  to  its  entrance  into 
the  Columbia.  The  valley  of  the  Yakima  is  rather  a  great  basin 
than  a  valley,  bounded  by  the  Cascade  Mountains  on  the  west. 


GLIMPSES  OF   THE   INLAND   EMPIRE. 


347 


point 
)e9  of 
us  for 


18CO  or 
ler  it  be 
aousand 
no  thou- 
tampeci»J 

,  making 
)f  course 
oad.     To 
ind  there 
npression 
he  ascent 
change  in 
notice  in 
jpearance 
bstitution 

,st  a  great 
^oney.  A 
ntcgration 

people,  I 
} thousand 

IV er  has  its 
Cle-ce-lum, 
trance  into 
great  basin 
n  the  west, 


the  Wenatcho  River  on  the  north,  and  the  Columbia  River  on 
the  south  and  oast,  containing  several  smaller  valleys  on  the 
west  side,  namely,  the  Wenass,  Nachoss,  Atahaatu,  Pisco,  Top- 
unisb,  and  Klickitat,  with  numerous  small  streams  debouching 
into  the  Columbia. 

The  soil  of  the  Yakima  basin  is  a  uniform  light  sandy  loam, 
with  more  or  less  alkali  in  it.  Near  the  mountains  there  is  more 
clay  and  loam,  which  retains  moisture  much  longer  than  the 
soil  of  the  plains,  and  the  river  bottoms  are  largely  alluvial 
tleposits.  The  country  comes  under  the  general  head  of  "arid 
land,"  although  as  a  natural  slock  cotmtry  it  is  unsurpassed,  the 
cattle  ranging  upon  it,  instead  of  coming  out  in  the  spring  with 
huik  siilos  and  rough  coats,  being  as  round  and  glossy  as  if  kept 
up  and  curried. 

This  is  the  original  home  of  the  Yakima  tribe  of  Indians, 
who  still  have  a  reservation  containing  about  thirty-six  town- 
ships on  the  west  side  of  the  basin,  watered  bytho  Atuhnam 
and  Topunlsh  Rivers.  These  people  kept  large  herds  of  horses 
before  white  men  came  among  them,  and  now  in  addition 
keep  herds  of  cattle.  White  settlors  at  first  imitated  them  in 
the  matter  of  neglecting  agriculture  for  stock-raising,  but  the 
advent  of  railroads  and  the  outcome  of  some  expei'iments  in 
farming  have  inaugui'ated  very  important  changes.  Irrigation 
is  now  the  demand,  and  the  problem  which  science  and  capital 
are  attempting  to  solve.  That  it  will  be  solved  there  can  bo 
no  doubt. 

The  first  place  of  any  consequence  which  we  come  to  after 
passing  the  mining  towns  of  Cle-ee-lum  and  Roslyn  is  Ellens- 
burg,  in  Kittitass  County.  It  was  first  settled  in  1867,  by  two 
;  I  xilies.  The  present  population  is  five  thousand.  It  was 
ail'  ")st  destroyed  by  fire  .July  -4,  1889,  one  month  after  Seattle 
vva:  burned,  and  one  month  before  another  city  of  Washington 
— bpokane — was  destroyed  by  the  same  element.  One  million 
doUai's  was  immediately  expended  in  rebuilding  the  burnt  dis- 
trict with  brick  and  stone,  and  the  trade  of  that  year  amounted 
to  two  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

EUensburg  was  not  entirely  a  creation  of  the  great  railroad, 
but  of  the  country  whose  resources  have  been  developed  by  its 
people.      These  resoui'ces  are  both  mineral  and  agricultural. 


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ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


There  are  four  irrigating  canals  in  the  Ellensburg  district.  One, 
the  Teanaway  Ditch  Company's  canal,  is  fifty  miles  in  length, 
and  can  water  seventy-five  thousand  acres  of  land.  It  is  claimed 
that,  without  irrigation,  forty  bushels  to  the  aero  of  wheat  can 
be  produced !  It  is  in  evidence  that  the  Ellensburg  Valley  pro- 
duced, in  1887,  one  million  bushels  of  wheat,  without  artificial 
moisture.  Fruit,  vegetables,  hops,  and  hay  do  well  without  ir- 
rigation ;  but  with  it,  they  produce  larger  crops. 

Ellensburg  is  the  county-seat  of  Kittitass  Counly.  It  is 
situated  on  Wilson  Creek,  a  short  distance  from  the  Yakima 
River,  on  a  plain  sloping  south.  The  Cascades  and  Mount 
Bainier  close  in  the  western  view ;  the  water-shed  between  the 
Yakima  and  Wenatchee  defines  the  valley  on  the  northeast,  and 
the  hills  of  the  Cowiehe  on  the  southwest,  while  the  Yakima  on 
the  southeast  is  closed  in  by  highlands  forming  a  long,  crooked, 
and  narrow  defile,  shutting  oflf  all  the  landscape  on  the  farther 
side.  The  town  is  regularly  laid  out,  with  wide  streets,  good 
sidewalks,  and  well-kept  public  grounds.  There  has  been  a 
large  accession  to  the  population  since  the  completion  of  the 
Cascade  division  of  the  Northern  Pacific. 

Ellensburg  controls  the  trade  of  a  wide  section,  and  is  reach- 
ing f  it  after  that  of  the  Okanogan  mining  region  and  the  Big 
Bend  country.  Its  business  men  built  a  steamboat  in  1889  to 
run  on  the  Columbia,  between  a  point  about  thirt}-  miles  from 
Ellensburg  and  the  mouth  of  the  Okanogan  Eiver,  and,  although 
it  was  run  at  a  loss  the  first  year,  voted  a  subsidy  to  keep  it  on 
the  route  the  second  year,  a  measure  which  is  bringing  its  re- 
ward. All  the  freight  from  the  West  for  the  mines  had  hereto- 
fore been  sent  to  Spokane  Falls,  and  thence  across  the  country 
by  rail-  and  v/agon-roads,  making  a  long  and  expensive  detour. 
The  Ellensburg  and  Northern  Railroad  is  being  constructed  to 
the  Columbia  Eiver  to  connect  with  the  steamer  for  the  Okano- 
gan mines. 

Ellensburg  has  a  good  water-system,  electric  light  service,  one 
street  railway,  a  telephone  exchange,  two  banks,  three  news- 
papers, a  foundry  and  machine-shops,  and  other  manufactures. 
There  are  six  flouring-mills  in  the  valle}-,  three  saw-millb,  three 
sash-  and  door  factories,  with  numerous  well-stocked  general 
merchandise  establishments.     A   company  has  recently  been 


IP! 


GLIMPSES  OF  THE   INLAND  BJfPIRE. 


349 


One, 

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formed  with  a  capital  of  one  million  dollars  to  develop  the 
mineral  wealth  of  the  Kittitass  and  tributary  country.  Among 
other  projects  is  one  to  build  a  smelter  to  reduce  the  ores  of  the 
ConconuUy  Mines  at  the  north,  and  another  to  organize  an  iron 
and  steel  manufacturing  company.  Limestone,  sandstone,  pum- 
ice, coal,  gold,  and  other  minerals,  it  is  said,  are  only  awaiting 
the  action  of  associated  capital  to  create  a  great  deal  of  wealth. 

The  second  town  in  the  Yakima  Basin  is  North  Yakima. 
Why  North  Yakima  ?  Only  because  when  some  people  of  their 
own  accord  had  laid  off  a  town  two  or  three  miles  south  of 
them,  then  came  the  Northern  Pacific  Eailroad  Company,  and 
in  1885  laid  off  a  town  of  its  own,  on  the  most  approved  plan, 
north  of  them,  and  drew  to  itself  the  trade  of  the  country  of 
Yakima.  This  proceeding  naturally  was  greatly  irritating  to 
the  South  Yakimus,  who  complained  of  the  treatment  of  the 
railroad  company.  The  company  as  a  corporation  could  not  be 
expected  to  have  a  soul,  but  it  had  a  fair-to-middling  kind  of 
brj^in,  and  made  a  proposition  to  the  residents  of  South  Yakima 
to  come  over  and  dwell  in  the  tents  of  the  north  town,  or, 
in  other  words,  to  let  the  railroad  company  remove  them, 
houses  and  inhabitants,  on  the  railroad  town  site,  whex*e  they 
were  to  be  given  lots  lor  those  Ihey  left  behind,  and  made  wel- 
come. As  the  business  of  the  place  had  already'  departed,  the 
majority  felt  forced  to  accept  the  proposition,  and  the  company 
accordingly  had  the  south  town  removed,  house  by  house,  and 
set  down  on  its  town-site.  This  procedure  increased  the 
value  of  North  Yakima  real  property.  History  is  silent  as  to 
the  financial  and  mental  condition  of  real-estate  dealers  in  the 
old  town,  but  they  probably  threw  themselves  off  a  rock  into 
the  sea. 

North  Yakima  is  a  flourishing  town,  situated  near  the  conflu- 
ence of  the  Nachess  and  Yakima  Rivers.  It  is  admirably  laid 
out,  with  streets  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  feet  in  width, 
shaded  by  handsome  trees,  and  irrigated  by  rivulets  of  pure 
water  flowing  next  the  sidewalks.  T  3  county-seat  is  located 
here,  and  its  three  thousand  inhabitants  pay  taxes  on  an  assessed 
valuation  of  one  million  dollars,  which  is  about  one-fourth  of 
the  actual  value  of  the  town  property.  It  is  equipped,  like  all 
the  new  towns  of  Washington,  with  water,  fire,  light,  and  street- 


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350 


ATLANTIS  ABI8EN. 


railway  service,  and  with  a  handsome  public-school  building, 
half  a  dozen  churches,  and  several  benevolent  societies.  A 
railroad  to  Portland  is  talked  of,  towards  which  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  bonus  is  pledged. 

The  principal  interests  of  North  Yakima  are  agricultural. 
Irrigation  schemes  are  the  topic  of  conversation.  Two  canals 
were  completed  in  1889 ;  one  from  the  Nachess  River  extending 
twelve  miles  towards  town,  with  branches  which  open  up  thirty 
thousand  acres  of  land,  at  a  cost  of  sixty  thousand  dollars,  and 
the  other  between  the  lower  Yakima  and  the  Columbia,  which 
waters  twenty-five  thousand  acres,  and  cost  thirty  thousand 
dollars.  The  Northern  Pacific  and  Yakima  Irrigation  Company 
is  surveying  for  another  canal,  to  cost  six  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  and  to  have  a  length  of  one  hundred  and  ten  miles.  A 
still  greater  scheme  is  on  foot  to  expend  about  two  million  dol- 
lars in  extended  irrigation  and  in  constructing  dams  in  the 
mountains  for  the  storage  of  water,  which  will  be  wanted  when 
the  eight  hundred  thousand  acres,  now  r3served  for  the  pleasure 
of  the  Indians,  shall  be  thrown  open  to  settlement. 

The  Moxee  Farm,  near  North  Yakima,  is  a  tract  owned  by  a 
company,  that  is  experimenting  with  the  soil  and  other  condi- 
tions of  the  land.  It  derives  large  profits  from  alfalfa,  hops, 
corn,  tobacco,  and  fruits.  Peaches  bear  profusely  the  second 
year  after  transplanting,  and  grapes  do  well.  A  fair  average 
crop  of  tobacco  is  one  thousand  pounds  per  acre,  and  nets  six 
hundred  dollars.  Hops  net  one  hundred  dollars.  Fruit  and 
vegetables  find  a  ready  market  at  good  prices.  The  company  is 
also  experimenting  with  cotton  and  tea.  It  owns  fourteen  miles 
of  ditcb,  and  can  flood  its  fields  if  so  disposed.  Dairying  and 
raising  blooded  stock  is  a  part  of  the  business  of  the  Moxee 
Farm. 

If  one  chooses  to  take  a  conveyance  south  about  fifty  miles 
from  North  Yakima,  he  will  strike  Goldendale,  the  county-seat 
of  Klickitat  County,  lying  south  of  the  Indian  Beservation. 
He  will  find  the  ride  interesting,  even  if  there  is  no  pioneer 
present  to  relate  to  him  incidents  of  the  Yakima  Indian  War, 
when  Fort  Simcoe  was  erected  by  Major  Garnett,  who  was 
afterwards  a  Confederate  general  in  the  civil  war. 


GLIMPSES   OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE. 


361 


lilding, 
68.  A 
undred 

ultural. 
)  canals 
tending 
p  thirty 
ars,  and 
I,  which 
liouaand 
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housand 
liles.    A 
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ii'ruit  and 
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Sfty  miles 
Dunty-seat 
sservation. 
10  pioneer 
dian  War, 
who  was 


There  is  a  range  of  hills  called  the  Simcoe  Mountains,  which 
yon  cross,  and  find  very  pleasant,  because  wooded,  after  the 
dun  and  monotonous  grass  and  sage-brush  lands.  The  road 
takes  us  across  the  reservation,  and  shows  us  a  good  many  fat 
cattle  and  lusty  aborigines,  but  little  improvement. 

Goldendale  is  an  agricultural  town  in  a  level  valley  among 
hills.  It  is  a  pretty  and  prosperous  place,  and  looks  forward  to 
having  railroad  connection  with  Portland  when  the  Hunt  Sys- 
tem is  completed  to  that  city.  It  is  making  proposals  to  secure 
the  Soldiers'  Home  upon  a  tract  of  land  near  the  town,  and  the 
place  seems  well  adapted  to  the  purpose,  the  plan  being  to  erect 
cottages  with  gardens  attached  instead  of  one  grand  institution. 

Trout  Lake,  and  the  ico  caves  mentioned  in  another  chapter, 
are  in  Klickitat  Countj'',  to  both  of  which  a  large  number  of 
visitors  repair  in  summer.  Mount  Adams  is  only  about  thirty- 
six  miles  northwest  of  Goldendale,  and  is  the  point  of  sight  of 
the  people  here,  as  Hood  is  of  Portland  and  The  Dalles. 

A  new  town,  called  North  Dalles,  has  sprung  up  opposite  the 
Oregon  town,  in  Klickitat  County,  Washington.  It  is  proposed 
to  erect  manufactories  here,  and  it  is  said  some  are  already 
secured.  Manufactures  on  the  Columbia,  with  free  navigation 
of  the  great  river,  are  what  are  required  to  give  stability  to 
that  development  which  capital  has  inaugurated  in  other 
ways. 

"  Keep  your  eye  on  Pasco  l"  is  the  injunction  which  meets  you 
in  newspaper  and  hand-bill  advertisements,  making  you  curious 
to  behold  it,  as  if  it  were  the  What  Is  It.  When  you  arrive, 
you  look  about  you  for  something  on  which  to  keep  your  eye, 
which  being  blown  full  of  sand  refuses  to  risk  more  than  the 
briefest  glimpses  thenceforward.  Thefe  is  a  hotel,  of  brick,  an<' 
some  houses  scattered  about,  built,  I  am  told,  by  the  Pasco  Land 
Company,  which  has  also  in  contemplation  a  large  irrigating 
canal  with  which  to  make  cultivable  the  wastes  of  sand  and 
sage-brush  owned  by  it.  A  Chinamen,  it  is  said,  has  a  small 
patch  of  ground  behind  his  cabin  which  he  sprinkles  with  a 
watering  pot,  thereby  being  enabled  to  grow  flowers  and  vege- 
tables in  luxuriant  beauty  and  proportions.  From  this  it  is 
inferred  that  the  irrigation  of  these  wastes  will  redeem  them 


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362 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


from  their  present  sterility;  but  in  the  interim,  keeping  one's 
eyes  on  Pasco  is  a  painful  experience. 

Merely  as  a  location  for  a  city,  Pasco,  or  Ainsworth,  which  is 
a  couple  of  miles  beyond,  at  the  crossing  or  Snake  River,  either, 
or  both  together,  are  fine  town-sites.  Mr.  Villard,  it  is  said,  has 
remarked  that  a  large  city  must  some  day  bo  built  up  at  the 
junction  of  the  Snake  and  Columbia  Rivers.  It  is  more  than 
probable,  and  I  hope  is  true,  and  that  it  will  bo  called  Ainsworth, 
to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  man,  than  whom  no  single 
individual  has  done  so  much  to  develop  the  Inland  Empire. 

Captain  J.  C.  Ainsworth  was  a  very  young  man  for  the  place 
when  he  took  command  of  a  steamboat,  as  part  owner,  on  the 
upper  Mississippi  River;  but,  meeting  with  a  painful  bereave- 
ment, this,  with  the  reports  arriving  at  that  time  of  the  riches 
of  the  California  gold  placers,  gave  him  a  distaste  for  his  manner 
of  life,  and  he  was  just  in  the  mood  to  break  away  from  it 
when  his  friend  William  C.  Ralston,  also  a  steamboat  man  in  his 
youth,  returned  from  the  golden  shore  with  such  representations 
as  put  to  flight  all  hesitation,  and  young  Ainsworth  became,  as 
so  many  others  have  become,  a  "  man  of  destiny."  He  spent  a  few 
months  in  California,  in  1850,  as  deputy  clerk  of  the  court  at 
Sacramento,  being  while  there  solicited  tb  go  to  Oregon  to  take 
command  of  the  first  steamboat  built  on  the  Wallamet, — the 
"Lot  Whitcomb," — in  which  he  bought  an  interest. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  a  career  which  lasted  from  1851 
to  1879  of  continued  progress  in  the  development  of  transpor- 
tation by  steamboat  on  the  Oregon  rivers,  in  which  Captain 
Ainsworth  bore  an  active  part.  In  1859  he  succeeded  in  form- 
ing— what  he  had  long  been  aiming  to  do — a  coinpany  which 
he  could  control  in  a  manner  to  help  the  country  and  benefit 
himself  This  was  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company, 
composed  at  first  of  the  combined  interests  of  several  hereto- 
fore antagonistic  companies  or  individuals,  who  were  gradually 
bought  off'  until  the  company  consisted  of  a  few  men  who  could 
work  together  harmoniously,  and  of  this  company  Captain 
Ainsworth  was  president  for  twenty  years. 

Chief  officer  though  he  was,  he  attended  to  every  detail  of 
the  business.  He  exacted  good  service,  and  rewarded  generously. 
The  company  made  money,  but  it  was  put  back  into  transporta- 


GLIMPSES  OF   THE  INLAND   EMPIRE. 


353 


T  one  8 


hich  18 
either, 
vid,  has 
at  the 
re  than 
sworth, 
D  single 
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be  place 
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y  detail  of 
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transporta- 


tion facilities,  and  enterprises  which  changed  Oregon  from  an 
impassablo  wilderness  to  a  charming  route  for  tourists.  Tho 
United  States  military  officer  who  was  conducting  an  Indian 
campaign ;  tho  miner  who  wsis  exploring  for,  or  had  found  tho 
precious  metal ;  the  stock-raiser  who  fattened  his  cattle  on  tho 
bunch-grass  plains,  and  brought  them  back  to  market  them  at 
home  ;  the  farmer  who  learned  rather  late  tho  productive  qual- 
ity of  the  soil  east  of  the  mountains,  as  well  as  the  immigrant 
and  the  traveller,  all  had  reason  to  thank  tho  Oregon  Steatn  Navi- 
gation Company  for  the  means  which  made  it  possible  for  them 
to  carry  on  their  undertakings  with  ease  and  safety, — made  it 
possible  not  from  motives  of  gain  exclusively,  but  with  intelli- 
gent foresight  for  tho  country,  as  well  as  the  company. 

No  corporation  that  ever  was  in  Oregon  has  done  for  it  and 
for  the  country  north  of  the  Columbia  what  this  Navigation 
Company  did.  Its  career  as  a  civilizer  has  been  only  equalled 
in  Washington  by  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  which  suc- 
ceeded to  the  ownership  of  tho  0.  S.  N.  Company's  property  by 
purchase,  a  short  time  before  Jay  Cooke's  failure,  which  came 
near  losing  the  railroad  company  its  lands  on  the  Portland 
branch.  Ainsworth  had  been  made  a  director  in  the  Northern 
Pacific,  and  was  general  manager  of  its  affairs  out  here.  When 
Cooke  failed  the  branch  from  the  Columbia  to  the  Sound  was 
not  completed,  and  the  men  employed  were  deserting,  when  the 
old  Navigation  Company  came  to  the  rescue  with  its  own  funds, 
paid  off  the  men,  and  completed  the  road  to  Tacoma.  They 
were  able  afterwards  to  buy  back  again  a  majority  of  the  0.  S. 
N.  stock,  and  made  improvements  in  its  property  before  selling 
out  to  Villard,  and  assisting  him  to  organize  the  Oregon  Rail- 
way and  Navigation  Company,  the  control  of  which  was  relin- 
quished to  the  Union  Pacific.  I  hope  I  have  shown  why  the 
name  of  Ainsworth  should  be  preserved  in  the  nomenclature  of 
Oregon  and  Washington.  While  legislatures  are  naming  now 
counties,  why  not  remember  this  and  others  of  the  founders  ? 

At  Pasco  the  Walla  Walla  passengers  are  detached  from  the 
through  train,  and  proceed  to  Wallula  Junction,  crossing  the 
Snake  River,  which  is  very  wide  here,  by  a  handsome  bridge. 
A  few  miles  more  brings  us  to  Hunt's  Junction,  which  is  just 
above  Wallula  Junction,  and  the  new  town  of  Wallula,  which 

28 


354 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


in  general  features  resembles  the  old  one,  where  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  had  its  fort, — once  called  Fort  Nez  Perce,  but  more 
commonly  Fort  Walla  Walla.  It  is  now  fallen  into  ruins.  Could 
these  tumbling  old  walls  speak,  strange,  tragical,  and  humorous, 
often,  would  be  the  stories  they  would  tell.  Here  McKinlay,  to 
avert  a  massacre,  sat  on  the  keg  of  powder  with  a  lighted 
match,  and  threatened  to  touch  it  off,  if  the  sullen  Walla  Walla 
chief  failed  on  the  instant  to  cease  from  his  insolent  demands 
and  lay  down  his  arms.  Here  Peter  Skeen  Ogden  related  his 
amusing  but  not  always  very  dainty  adventures;  and  Tom  Mc- 
Kay recalled  the  death  of  his  father,  when  the  northern  Indians 
seized  the  Tonquin. 

Here,  also,  in  the  palmy  days  of  the  O.  S.  N.  Company,  was 
a  large  floating  wharf;  and  here  was  the  terminus  of  Dr. 
Baker's  railroad  to  Walla  Walla.  This  road  causes  Dr.  D.  S. 
Baker,  of  Walla  Walla,  to  be  classed  among  the  founders,  he 
having  built  the  first  railroad  in  East  Washington,  from  Wallu 
Walla  to  the  Columbia  Eiver,  about  1876.  It  was  a  naiTow- 
gauge,  and  treated  its  patrons  to  nothing  more  luxurious  than  a 
wooden  seat  in  a  box-car.  But  then  it  was  not  built  so  much 
for  passenger  service  as  for  the  transportation  of  wheat  irom 
the  Walla  Walla  Valley  to  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Com- 
,  pany's  boats.  Wheat,  in  sacks,  was  piled  up  six  feet  high,  for 
an  eighth  of  a  mile  along  the  beach,  jupt  after  harvest,  and  it 
was  a  pretty  sight  to  watch  the  loading  of  the  steamers  for 
Portland.  A  good  deal  of  mirthful  comment  was  provoked  by 
some  of  the  doctors  devices,  as,  for  instance,  the  use  of  old  tin 
oil-cans  to  water  the  engine,  the  sei'vlco  not  yet  having  reached 
the  dignity  of  tanks  and  hose.  It  was  effort  and  not  money 
which  made  the  founders  worthy,  and  therefore  we  honor  them, 
recognizing  that 

•«  The  attempt 
Is  all  the  wedge  which  splits  its  knotty  way 
Betwixt  the  possible  and  the  impossible." 

This  road  was  finally  sold  to  the  Oregon  Railway  and  Naviga- 
tion Company,  and  made  standard  gauge.  It  is  still  the  only 
direct  route  to  Walla  Walla  from  the  Columbia  River,  although 
from  Hunt's  Junction  that  city  may  be  reached  by  the  devious 


GLIMPSES  OF  THE  INLAND   EMPIRE. 


355 


idson's 
it  more 
Could 
norous, 
i\\&y,  to 
lighted 
1  Walla 
emands 
ated  his 
:om  Mc- 
Indians 

my,  was 
i  of  D»-- 
Dr.  D.  S. 
idcrs,  he 
)m  Walla 
i  naiTOW- 
,U8  than  a 
t  80  much 
leat  irom 
tion  Corn- 
high,  lor 
38t,  and  it 
lamers  for 
ovoked  hy 
of  old  tin 
ig  reached 
not  money 
onor  them, 


,nd  Naviga- 
ill  the  only 
)r,  although 
the  devious 


ways  followed  by  the  Hunt  system,  or,  officially  speaking,  by 
the  lines  of  the  Oregon  and  Washington  Territory  Rtiilroad 
Company.  This  system  was  intended  to  furnish  transportation 
to  the  farming  communities  in  the  Walla  Walla  and  Umatilla 
Valleys,  and  as  such  has  been  an  important  factor  in  the  devel- 
opment of  these  fruitful  regions.  Together  with  the  Snake 
River  and  the  Oregon  Railroad  and  Navigation  Company,  which 
has  roads  extending  through  the  Palouse  country,  or  Whitman 
County,  this  portion  of  East  Washington  is  already  quite  well 
furnished  with  transportation, — that  is,  if  the  railroads  had  cars 
and  locomotives  enongh  on  the  ground  at  the  proper  time,  which 
this  year  thej'  did  not  have. 

The  distance  from  the  Columbia  River  to  Walla  Walla  City  is 
thirty  miles.  The  Walla  Walla  River  flows,  with  short  curves, 
directly  west  from  Round  Mountain,  in  the  Blue  Range,  where 
it  has  its  rise.  Its  main  branch,  the  Touchet  (pronounced  Too- 
shay),  rises  on  the  opposite  side  of  Round  Mountain,  and  de- 
scribes a  semicircle,  with  the  main  river  for  its  base,  all  the 
other  branches  describing  lesser  curves  inside  of  this  one,  an 
arrangement  by  which  this  valley  is  well  watered.  These 
streams  also  flow  near  the  surface  level,  making  them  easily 
available  for  irrigation. 

The  railroad  follows  the  course  of  the  river,  and  for  about 
twenty  miles  the  country  is  rolling,  but  at  Dry  Creek  Grossing 
the  aspect  of  the  landscape  suddenly  changes,  and  a  level  basin, 
or  plateau,  bounded  by  the  foot-hills  of  the  Blue  Mountains  on 
the  east,  and  stretching  away  into  undulating  prairie  on  every 
other  side,  strikes  the  eye  as  something  new  and  charming  after 
the  mountains,  cations,  and  bunch-grass  hills  passed  during  the 
day's  ride. 

This  beautiful  valley  contains  about  eight  thousand  square 
miles  of  land  unsurpassed  for  fruitfulness.  Its  elevation  above 
sea-level  is  nine  hundred  and  twenty-six  feet,  or  six  hundred 
and  one  feet  above  the  Columbia  at  Wallula.  Its  climate  is  the 
warmest  of  any  part  of  Washington,  having  a  mean  tempera- 
ture of  54°.  In  July  the  mean  is  73.8",  and  in  January  it  is 
32.4®.  The  greatest  amount  of  moisture  fjiUs  in  December  and 
January,  but  its  only  rfry  month  is  July.    Spring  opens  early, 


m>  f 


ATLANTIS  AHISEN. 


and  is  more  delightful  than  in  any  part  of  the  State, — I  had 
almost  said  of  the  United  Statefl,— and  I  speak  whereof  I  know. 

Some  years  ago,  before  the  era  of  railroads,  I  chanced  to  travel 
leisurely  through  this  Walla  Walla  country,  and  to  go  as  far  as 
Lewiston  on  the  Idaho  border.  What  a  charming  journey  it 
was  I  The  atmosphere  was  almost  intoxicating  with  vitality. 
Overhead  blue  sky  and  sunshine.  All  about  waving  grass  and 
wild  flowei-s.  On  every  side  larks  pouring  forth  their  liquid 
notes.  Dodging  about  among  the  bunches  of  grass  were  prairie- 
hens,  grouse,  and  a  long-necked  bird,  which  I  did  not  recognize, 
and  which  my  driver  said  was  a  curlew. 

"  What  is  the  use  of  so  much  neck  ?"  I  in<5[uired. 

"  I  don't  know,"  was  the  Yankee  response,  "  unless  it  is  to  eat 
out  of  a  bottle." 

Then  I  told  him  about  the  man  who  grew  excessively  fat  eat- 
ing mush  and  milk  out  of  a  jug  with  a  knitting-needle. 

Later,  in  the  summer's  close,  I  returned  through  the  same  re- 
gion, and  saw  immigrants  taking  up  these  lands.  There  were 
small  cabins  of  one  or  two  rooms  (for  lumber  is  not  so  plentiful 
here  as  in  the  Puget  Sound  country)  to  shelter  the  families, 
and  just  across  the  road  from  the  cabins  were  newly -broken 
fields,  surrounded  by  sod-fences  and  ditches  (no  expense  for 
fencing).  The  seed  was  put  in  on  the  newly-upturned  earth, 
and  left  to  do  the  best  for  itself  that  it  could.  Imagine  the 
pleased  surprise  of  these  immigrants  when  they  harvested 
twenty-five  to  forty  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre  I  It  was  not 
long  before  the  cabins  disappeared  and  comfortable  farm- houses 
arose  in  the  midst  of  golden  grain-fields. 

This  plenty  and  prosperity  were  the  joint  result  of  soil  and 
climate,  and  I  need  not  analyze  the  one  or  the  other.  But 
as  I  have  generalized  rather  than  particularized  when  speaking 
of  the  productiveness  of  the  soil  of  Washington,  I  will  now  in- 
troduce some  statistics,  obtained  from  the  most  reliable  sources, 
concerning  the  Walla  Walla  Valley,  which  does  not,  like  the 
Yakima  Valley,  require  irrigation  to  produce  crops. 

The  Census  Bureau  quotes  Washington  as  yielding  twenty- 
three  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre,  which  is  the  largest  average 
given  for  any  State  in  the  Union.  The  average  of  East  Wash- 
ington should  be  placed  at  thirty  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  but 


OIJMP8ES  OP  TlIE  INLAND   EMPIBE. 


867 


-I  had 
know. 
)  travel 
3  far  as 
rney  it 
vitality. 
asB  and 
r  liquid 
I  prairie- 
cognize, 


many  farms  produce  from  forty  to  sixty  bushels,  and  seventy-two 
bushels  have  boon  raised  per  acre.  Oats  go  from  seventy  to 
ninety  and  one  hundred  bushels,  hurley  from  forty  to  eighty, 
and  corn  from  twenty-five  to  forty  bushels  to  the  acre.  This  is 
not  a  corn-growing  country,  as  Illinois  is,  because  the  nights 
are  too  cool,  but  farmers  usijally  raise  a  few  acres  of  it.  Alfalfa, 
clover,  and  timothy  yield  heavy  crops, — the  first  named  yield- 
inj5  from  two  to  four  crops  a  years. 

Mr.  Philip  Eitz,  formerly  of  Walla  Walla,  was  the  first  to 
experiment  with  fruit-growing  in  this  valley.  When  his  or- 
chard was  three  years  old  from  the  graft  ho  reported  as  follows : 


is  to  eat 

y  fat  eat- 

same  re- 
lere  were 
»  plentiful 
I  families, 
ly-broken 
pense  for 
led  earth, 
tagine  the 
harvested 
;t  was  not 
^rm- houses 

)f  soil  and 
ther.  But 
Q  speaking 
rill  now  in- 
)le  sources, 
»t,  like  the 

ag  twenty- 
ost  average 
East  "Wash- 
er acre,  but 


YIELD   OF   EACH   TREE,    VINE,   PLANT,   AND   SHRUB. 


lit  year. 

Apples 20  lbs. 

Peaches 15   " 

Pears  .••.......   20   •' 

Plums 20    " 

Cherries 5    " 


2d  year. 
60  lbs. 
86   «' 
50    " 
50    " 
16   «' 


8d  year. 
126  lbs. 
100    " 
126    " 
126    " 
50   " 


4th  year. 
260  lbs. 
200   " 
260   " 
250  " 
100  " 


From  Offshoot. 


iHt  year.  2d  year. 

Blackberries 8  lbs.  8    lbs. 

Raspberries 8    "  10     " 

Strawberries IJ    " 

Grapes  (at  2  years) 3    "  10      " 

Gooseberries  (at  2  years)     .   .   2    "  5     " 

Currants  (at  2  years)  ....   2    "  6     " 

Pie-plants  (at  2  years)    .   .   .   8   "  20     " 


Sdyear.  4th  year. 
16  lbs.     85  lbs. 


20 
2 
25 
10 
10 
20 


40 
2 
75 
20 
20 
10 


When  the  trees  were  seven  years  old  he  gave  the  average 
yield,  per  acre,  of  his  orchard : 


Pounds. 

Apples 40,000 

Peaches 80,000 

Pears 40,000 

Pluma 60,000 

Cherries 20,000 


Pounds. 

Grapes ,  .   40,000 

Blackberries     ....   16,000 

Easpberries 16,000 

Gooseberries     ....     6,000 
Currants 10,000 


The  money  results  of  fruit-raising  may  be  learned  from  the 
books  of  a  Walla  Walla  gardener,  last  year's  crop  from  four 
acres  being  as  follows : 


368 


ATLANTIS   AKIS£N. 


16,000  (lounds  strawberries,  at  0  cent! 


m'{ 


500 
1,000 
4,000 
7,600 
2,000 

600 
TotrJ 


|9M 

86 

80 

280 

prunes,  at  8  to  6  cents SOO 

....'...  i^ 
16 


raspberries,  at  7  ct>nt8  . 
blaukbTric  at  8  cents 
rhorries,  at  I  cents    .    . 


apples,  at  2  oents 


pcurs, 


at  3  cents 


11710 

Tho  average  yi^'d  of  vogotables  per  acre,  in  buBhols,  was : 


Peas     .... 
Beans    .   .   .   . 
Potatoes  .   . 
Sweet  potatoes 


Bushels. 
.     40 
.     80 
.   600 
.   200 


Bushels. 

Turnips 800 

Carrots 1,000 

Parsnips 800 

Cabbage,  pounds     .    .   20,000 


Yegetables  will  in  one  year  pay  one  hundred  per  cent,  on  ex- 
penditures. 

Tho  various  cereals  and  fruits  of  this  valley  are  harvested  as 
follows : 

Wheat,  from  the  24th  of  June  to  10th  of  July. 
Oats,  from  Ist  of  July  to  20th  of  July. 
Barley,  from  20th  of  June  to  Ist  of  July. 
Rye,  from  1st  of  July  to  10th  of  July. 
Corn,  from  20th  of  August  to  10th  of  September. 
Strawberries,  from  Ist  of  May  to  10th  of  June. 
Raspberries,  from  10th  of  June  to  20th  of  July. 
Blackberries,  from  26th  of  June  to  1st  of  August. 
Gooseberries,  from  20th  of  June  to  Ist  of  July. 
Cherries,  from  20th  of  May  to  Ist  of  July. 

As  an  example  of  what  talent,  grit,  and  opportunity  may 
sometimes  accomplish,  I  quote  the  Blalock  Farm,  near  the  city 
of  Walla  Walla.  Dr.  N.  G.  Blalock,  of  Illinois,  arrived  here  in 
October,  1872,  having  come  overland  with  teams,  bringing  his 
family.  He  at  once  commenced  earning  money, — for  he  did 
not  bring  any, — both  by  the  practice  of  medicine  and  the  use 
of  his  teams,  putting  all  his  income  that  could  be  spared  into 
land  along  the  base  of  the  Blue  Mountains,  and  cultivating  these 
acres,  the  outcome  of  which  went  into  more  land,  until  he  owned 
five  thousand,  and  in  1881  harvested  ninety  thousand  bushels 
of  wheat  and  barley.  His  practice  is  now  so  large  that  he  has 
no  time  for  farming  !  ■ 


GLIMPSra  OF   THE   INLAND    EMPIRE. 


359 


\0 
t6 
iO 
30 
DO 

16 
10 

vas: 

hels. 

iOO 

MO 

800 

000 

it.  on  ex- 
t^ested  as 


nity  may 
r  the  city 
)d  here  in 
jing  his 
or  he  did 
the  use 
lared  into 
ting  these 
he  owned 
id  bushels 
hat  be  has 


But  how  would  Dr.  Blalock  have  gotten  his  five  thoueand 
acres  except  he  had  come  at  a  time  when  land  was  cheap,  or 
gotten  ninety  thousand  bushels  of  grain  to  the  itcabourd,  if  he 
had  raised  all  that,  before  the  day  of  Dr.  iJakers  railroad?  It 
is  just  an  iiiHtanco  of  the  man  and  ihe  hour  coming  together. 
Perhaps  it  was  Dr.  Blalook's  action  which  caused  Dr.  Baker 
and  other  citizens  to  attempt  a  railroad. 

The  most  serious  drawbaci.  ^nd  every  country  must  have 
a  drawback — to  the  perfect  den  ability  of  the  Walla  Walla 
Valley  for  a  residence  is  the  I'.ck  of  limber.  The  nearest  lum- 
ber supply  is  in  the  Blue  I^'"  intaiua,  about  twenty  miles  distant, 
but  lumber  is  also  broiu^ht  by  railroad  from  Piiget  Sound  and 
Portland.  Fuel  is  supplied  fro^n  the  Blue  Mountains  in  a  novel 
manner, — namely,  by  a  V-shapod  flume,  which  carries  the  wood 
from  the  mountain.s  to  within  scv^n  miles  of  town,  where  it 
i.s  loaded  on  flat  cars  and  taken  to  its  dc-'Mnation,  the  "Blue 
Mountain  Flume  Company"  formerly  owning  a  nanow-gauge 
railway  from  the  terminus  of  the  flume  to  Walla  Walla,  which 
is  now  owned  by  the  Oregon  Railroad  and  Navigation  Compan}-. 

The  wood  consumed  in  the  city  and  at  Fort  Walla  Walla 
amounts  to  twenty-two  thousand  cords,  only  a  little  more  than 
half  of  which  comes  from  the  Blue  Mountains.  It  sells  for  six 
dollars  to  six  dollai's  and  fifty  cents  a  cord..  When  the  coal- 
mines of  the  Cascades  are  sufficiently  developed,  coal  will  un- 
doubtedly come  into  general  use  in  the  treeless  regions ;  but  for 
the  present  all  the  slab  and  refuse  timber  of  the  mills  in  the 
Cascades  is  carried  by  rail  down  into  the  valleys  to  bo  used  .is 
firewood. 

Walla  Walla  City  is  not  one  of  the  new  towns  of  Washington, 
and  never  had  any  real-estate  excitement.  The  long  occupation 
of  the  country  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  some  of  whose 
sei'vants  remained  here  with  their  Indian  relatives  after  white 
people  of  American  blood  were  driven  out,  furnished  a  basis 
of  settlement  dating  back  to  the  second  decade  of  the  cen- 
tury. But  it  was  not  until  1858  that  some  American  citizen.s 
established  themselves  on  the  site  of  the  present  city,  under  the 
protection  of  the  United  States  fort,  erected  the  previous  year. 

In  1859  it  was  decided  among  the  settlers  to  lay  out  a  town- 


360 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


i'j;  i 


site,  half  a  mile  long  and  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide,  with  its  east- 
and-west  streets  one  hundred  feet  vr'Ae,  and  its  north-and-south 
streets  eighty  feet ;  and  to  leave  off  calling  the  settlement  Step- 
toe  City  and  name  it  Walla  Walla,  which  was  done.  In  1862 
the  Territorial  legislature  incorporated  the  citj',  with  an  extent 
of  eight}-  acres.  It  immediately  became  an  important  point,  on 
account  of  the  necessity  of  an  outfitting  place  for  miners  then 
rushing  to  the  Oro  Fino  and  Florence  Diggings,  in  what  is  now 
the  State  of  Idaho,  and  from  that  time  until  now  it  has  been 
the  centre  of  a  largo  trade,  supported  first  by  the  mining  inter- 
ests of  the  upper  country,  and  more  recently  by  the  agricultural 
interests  of  the  valley. 

A  word  about  the  name  of  Walla  Walla,  which  I  observe  is 
frequently  translated  to  mean  the  '•  valley  of  waters."  I  had  it 
from  the  lips  of  the  famous  Nez  Perce  chief,  Lawyer,  that  walla- 
walla  meant  the  confluence  of  two  rivers,  and,  being  used  to 
designate  the  junction  of  the  river  which  waters  the  valley 
with  the  Columbia,  became  used  by  Indians  and  white  people 
to  designate  the  natives  who  lived  about  the  mouth  and  the  fur 
company's  fort  at  that  place.  From  this  the  white  men  spoke 
of  the  river,  and  then  of  the  river-valley,  as  the  Walla  Walla 
and  "  the  Walla  Walla  country."  It  is  not  the  custom  of  the 
Indians  to  name  rivers  arbitrarily  as  we  do,  but  to  speak  of  cer- 
tain localities  by  some  descriptive  word,  and  to  call  the  tribe 
or  family  living  there  by  that  name. 

The  designation  chosen  for  Walla  Walla  by  her  inhabitants  is 
"  Garden  City,"  and  well  does  she  merit  it,  for  trees  and  flowers 
fairly  obstruct  the  view.  There  are  few  pretentious  buildings  of 
any  character,  the  business  houses  being  usually  no  more  than 
two  stories,  and  the  residences  simple  cottages  and  villas.  In 
the  outskirts  are  a  continually  increasing  number  of  the  latter, 
surrounded  by  beautiful  grounds. 

The  city  has  a  handsome  court-house,  this  being  the  county- 
seat  ;  a  large  and  costly  public  school ;  a  collegiate  institution, — 
Whitman  College ;  several  banks ;  three  daily  papers,  the  most 
important  of  which  is  the  Union,  published  ever  since  1869 ;  a 
free  library  and  club-room;  a  hospital;  free  postal  delivery; 
water- works;  gas  lighting;  churches  of  all  denominations,  and, 
in  short,  just  what  one  would  expect  to  find  in  an  Eastern  town 


T 


GLIMPSES  OF  THE   INLAND   EMFIBE. 


361 


ts  east- 
i-south 
it  Step- 
;n  1862 
extent 
oint,  on 
)vs  then 
t  is  now 
as  been 
ig  intor- 
icultural 

)serve  is 
I  bad  it 
lat  walla- 
;  used  to 
le  valley 
te  people 
id  the  fur 
[len  spoke 
ilia  Walla 
Dm  of  the 
ak  of  cer- 
the  tribe 

ibitants  is 
ad  flowers 
lildings  of 
more  than 
villas.  In 
the  latter, 

he  county- 
ititution, — 
toe  most 
ice  1869 ;  a 
1  delivery; 
itions,  and, 
stern  town 


of  seven  thousand  inhabitants,  besides  a  board  of  trade  and  a 
business  worth  eleven  million  dollars  annually.  The  land-offico 
for  this  district  is  lo  ated  here.     So  is  the  State  penitentiary. 

The  flour  industry  of  the  city  and  county  amounts  to  two 
hundred  and  seventy  thousand  barrels  annually;  the  oldest 
miller  in  East  Washington  'leing  Mr.  H.  P.  Isaacs,  who  erected 
in  1862  a  mill,  which  has  leen  twice  rebuilt  to  keep  pace  with 
the  improvements  which  he  found  desirable.  The  very  best  of 
roller  flour  is  manufactured  here,  which  finds  a  market  in  Liver- 
pool and  San  Francisco. 

Walla  Walla,  besides  its  grain  and  flour  trade,  jobs  one  million 
dollars'  worth  of  general  merchandise  throughout  the  valley. 
One  firm,  H.  Dusenberry  &  Co.,  which  has  been  here  since  1858, 
furnishes  a  number  of  establishments  in  outlying  towns,  and  has 
connections  with  San  Francisco.  No,  Walla  Walla  is  not  a  new 
town,  nor  has  it  ever  been  said  of  it  that  it  is  a  marvel  of  rapid 
growth  ;  but  I  think  I  like  it  all  the  better  that  its  growth  is 
natural  and  hardy.  Whatever  "  moss"  it  has  upon  it  now  will 
fall  off  with  a  few  more  years'  increase. 

The  drives  about  the  city  are  excellent.  The  chief  point  of 
attraction  to  visitors  is  the  garrison,  just  outside  of  the  city 
limits.  The  post  was  established,  as  I  have  said,  in  1856,  by 
Colonel  Steptoe,  at  a  point  now  within  the  present  corporation, 
but  removed  in  the  following  year  to  the  slight  eminence  which 
it  now  occupies,  and  improvements  were  then  begun.  I  have 
been  informed  that  the  first  wheat  sown  in  the  Walla  Walla  Val- 
ley was  sown  in  this  year  by  the  troops  at  the  fort,  under  the 
direction  of  Quartermaster-Gerieral  li.  G.  Kirkham.  If  we  except 
the  grain  grown  bj'  the  mission  superintendent  in  the  '40*8,  this 
is  probably  true.  Both  gentlemen  took  it  for  granted  that  only 
the  bottom-lands  were  fit  for  agriculture,  devoting  the  valley  in 
general  to  stock-raising,  and  it  was  some  years  before  it  was 
found  that  the  uplands  were  ))rime  wheat  lands. 

The  post  was  abandoned  in  1866,  and  re-occupied  in  1873, 
since  which  date  there  has  been  a  strong  force  kept  here,  and  it 
is  a  handsome  and  comfortable  place  of  residence  for  the  oflScers 
and  soldiers  here  stationed.  It  cuts  no  little  figure,  besides,  in 
the  trade  of  the  town,  there  being  expended  by  the  military 
each  year  about  four  hundred  thousand  dollars. 


M 


362 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


Another  place  of  interest,  although  associated  only  with  pain- 
ful ideas,  is  the  site  of  the  Waiilatpu  mission,  about  seven  mileg 
west  of  the  city,  where,  in  1847,  perisheii  Di'.  and  Mrs.  Whit- 
man, Presbyterian  missionaries,  and  about  a  dozen  others,  at 
the  hands  of  the  Cayuse  Indians.  One  common  mound  murks 
the  spot  where  they  were  hastily  buried  by  volunteer  troops 
from  Wallamet  Valley  after  the  flesh  had  been  torn  from  their 
bones  by  wolves.  A  movement  is  on  foot  to  erect  a  monument 
to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Whitman.  The  most  suitable  monument, 
it  seems  to  me,  would  be  an  endowment  for  the  college  which 
bears  his  name,  with  a  tablet  inscribed  to  him  set  in  its  wall. 

Of  the  towns  in  the  Walla  Walla,  Waitsburg  is  one  of  the 
prettiest.  It  is  in  the  valley  of  the  Touchet,  where  it  is  joined 
by  the  Coppei,  in  the  midst  of  beauty  and  fertilify.  The  place 
was  fii'st  settled  by  Mr.  S.  M.  Wait  about  1864,  who  built  a 
flouring-mill,  then  very  much  needed  by  the  settlers,  from 
which  he  cleared  five  thousand  dollars  in  two  months  after  it 
was  running.  Soon  tradesmen  of  various  kinds  settled  about 
him,  and  a  town  grew  up  which  does  honor  to  its  founder.  Mr. 
Wait  was  one  of  the  first  to  experiment  with  grain  on  the 
uplands. 

Waitsburg  has  a  population  of  one  thousand,  who  maintain 
good  schools,  support  a  daily  newspaper,  and  enjoy  life  in  this 
garden  of  plenty,  which  is  also  a  model  of  good  taste. 

Another  pretty  town  is  Dayton.  Like  Waitsburg,  it  lies  in  a 
valley,  and  is  embowered  in  trees,  while  it  is  surrounded  by 
wheat-fields  which  would  seem  continuous  but  for  here  and 
there  a  line  of  poplars  pointing  out  where  a  farm-house  is  con- 
cealed. The  swift,  cool  Touchet  flows  through  the  town,  and 
turns  the  wheels  of  two  flouring-mills,  and  is  joined  by  a 
smaller  stream  with  a  French  name  Petite,  anglicized  into  Pattit. 

Dayton  has  a  population  of  two  thousand  five  hundred,  a 
handsome  court-house,  four  public  scliools,  foundry,  furnitux'e- 
factory,  brewery,  and  other  industries,  besides  five  saw-mills  in 
mountains  near  by.  It  has  a  national  bank,  is  lighted  by  elec- 
tricity, and  has  water-works.  The  streets  are  broad,  with  good 
sidewalks,  and  tempting  fruit-gardens  just  over  the  fence.  The 
town  was  founded  in  1871  by  Jesse  Day,  formerly  of  St.  Paul. 
Both  Waitsburg  and  Dayton  are  reached  by  the  Hunt  system 


pain- 
miles 

Whit- 

ers,  at 

murks 

troops     . 

I  their 

lument 

ument,      ^ 

1  whicli 

vail. 

of    the 
joined 

le  place 
built  a 

s,   from 

after  it 

d  about 

er.    Mr. 
on   the 

Maintain 
in  this 

lies  in  a 
ttded   by 
icre  and 
?e  is  eon- 
)wn,  and 
ed   by  a 
to  Pattit. 
mdred,  a 
urniture- 
^-mills  in 
I  by  elec- 
vith  good 
ice.    The 
St.  Paul. 
it  system 


^ 

Sa 


WHAT  ABOUT  SPOKANE? 


363 


of  raih'oads,  giving  them  outlets  to  the  Columbia  and  connection 
with  the  transcontinental  lines. 

Between  the  Touchet  and  the  Snake  Rivers,  in  Walla  Walla 
County,  is  a  sti-ip  of  country  twenty  miles  in  breadth  by  fifty 
in  length,  lying  on  the  top  of  a  bench  of  the  high  hills  south  of 
the  Snake,  of  which  thirty  by  ten  miles  is  a  flat,  called  Eureka, 
of  rich,  loamy  soil,  constituting  a  region  unsurpassed  for  fruit- 
fulness,  and  through  it  the  Hunt  railroad  is  run.  In  this  favored 
grain-land  has  sprung  up  recently  the  town  of  Fairfield,  which 
promises  to  be  able  soon  to  compete  with  any  of  the  older  towns 
in  the  county  in  growth  and  prosperity. 

From  these  brief  observations  on  this  part  of  the  Inland  Em- 
pire it  will,  perhaps,  be  possible  to  catch  some  general  view  of 
it  and  those  features  which  contrast  so  strongly  with  the  Puget 
Sound  region.  It  is  at  the  same  time  an  admirable  countei'part, 
each  being  necessary  to  the  comploteness  of  the  other. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

WHAT   ABOUT   SPOKANE? 

The  route  of  the  Northern  Pacific  to  Spokane  from  Walla 
Walla  is  a  tortuous  one,  and  for  a  large  part  of  the  distance  an 
uninteresting  one.  It  is  haying-time,  the  weather  is  warm, 
and  travel  dusty.  The  road  winds  among  hills  after  the  manner 
01  water  seeking  its  level.  Prescott,  named  after  an  officer  of 
the  company,  is  a  pretty  place  between  hills,  the  approach  to  it 
being  along  the  Touchet  River  bordered  by  thickets  of  mock- 
orange.  From  here  to  the  Snake  River  there  is  little  to  attract 
the  eye.  The  Palouse  country  north  of  the  Snake  appeared 
more  thrifty.  Along  the  streams  were  dense  groves  of  poplar, 
birch,  and  willow,  and  thickets  of  wild  roses.  Endicott  is  in  a 
good  farming  region,  and  well  built  for  a  small,  new  settlement. 
I  observed  several  tree  plantations  along  the  route  through 
Whitman  County.  About  Colfax  the  hills  are  dotted  with 
pines.  I  had  a  glimpse  of  Steptoe's  Butte,  where  that  officer 
was  badly  beaten  bj'  the  Spokane  and  Cceur  d'Alene  Indians  in 
1858.      On  that  butte  he  buried  most  of  his  command   and 


364 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


cached  his  howitzers  previous  to  a  stolen  retreat  to  the  south 
bank  of  the  Snake  Eiver. 

Farmington  seemed  a  town  of  considerable  population,  with 
good  houses  and  fencing.  Eockford  is  in  the  edge  of  a  lumbering 
region,  and  is  an  old  town  built  scatteringly  ou  the  piney  slopes, 
which  furnish  timber  for  milling.  Taking  it  all  in  all,  there  is 
little  to  remark  on  the  journe}',  which  ends  after  nightfall. 

I  was  told  in  "Walla  Walla  that  I  should  not  like  Spokane 
Falls,  because  it  was  "  right  in  the  woods."  If  this  had  been 
said  about  many  places  west  of  the  Cascades,  there  would  have 
been  no  surprise ;  but  a  town  "  right  in  the  woods"  in  the  arid 
region  called  a  halt  to  my  previous  and,  as  I  believed,  well- 
founded  impressions.  It  was  therefore  with  curiosity  that  I 
peered  through  the  window  beside  me,  as  night  drew  on.  to  catch 
the  first  view  of  the  northern  forest  which  I  was  assured  sur- 
rounded the  Phoenix  of  the  Plains.  But  before  I  had  discovered 
it  the  train  rolled  into  the  well-lighted  streets  of  a  cheerful- 
looking  town,  and  the  guard  called  out  "  Spokane  1"  By  good 
luck  I  went  to  a  hotel  just  below  the  falls  which  gave  the  city 
its  name,  and  where  I  enjoyed  from  my  room  a  view  different 
from,  but  strongly  reminding  one  of,  the  great  cataract  of  Niag- 
ara. It  is  true  there  is  not  the  heavy  roar  of  a  large  lake  pouring 
over  a  great  height  as  at  Niagara,  but  there  is  enough  water  and 
enough  fall,  or  rather  succession  of  falls,  all  roaring  and  foaming 
together,  to  make  a  good  deal  of  noise  and  a  vf  y  attractive  spec- 
tacle. To  the  music  of  these  waters  I  slept  joyously,  if  I  may 
be  allowed  the  term,  and  waked  the  following  morning  with  a 
feeling  of  exhilaration  to  commence  my  quest  for  information. 

What  a  strange  town  !  Ten  years  ago  it  was  a  pioneer  settle- 
ment of  half  a  hundred  houses,  and  had  been  struggling  up  to 
this  degree  of  grandeur  for  a  previous  ten  years.  Only  ton 
months  ago  thirty  business  houses,  valued  at  six  million  dollars, 
were  consumed  by  fire.  To-day  the  only  reminders  of  this  dis- 
aster to  a  young  city  are  the  piles,  not  of  burnt  rubbish,  but  of 
fresh  buildii.g-material,  which  obstruct  the  broad  avenues.  Nor 
are  the  buildings  which  are  replacing  the  former  structures  of 
a  temporary  nature  '  at  of  granite,  brick,  and  iron,  from  three 
to  seven  stories  in  weight,  and  fashioned  after  the  most  elegant 
modern  styles.    An  opera-house  costing  over  a  quarter  of  a  mil- 


WHAT  ABOUT   SPOKANE? 


366 


)  south 

• 

n,  with 
iibering 
■  slopes, 
there  is 

ill. 

Spokane 
ad  been 
lid  have 
the  arid 
id,  well- 
y  that  I 
to  catch 
lU'ed  sur- 
iscovered 
cheerful- 
By  good 
I  the  city 
different 
,  of  Niag- 
B  pouring 
vater  and 
i  foaming 
itive  spec- 
if I  may 
nsr  with  a 
►rmation. 
leer  settle- 
ling  up  to 
Only  ten 
on  dollars, 
)f  this  dis- 
ish,  but  of 
aues.    Nor 
•uctures  of 
from  three 
ost  elegant 
er  of  a  mil- 


lion, a  hotel  costing  nearly  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  a  hand- 
some post-office,  cable  and  electric  street  railroads,  electric  and 
gas  lighting,  the  power  furnished  by  tho  falls,  water- works,  and 
every  other  modern  appliance  of  a  luxurious  civilization,  are  to 
be  found  here.  Yet  Spokane  Fulls  is  three  hundred  rnd  seventy- 
two  miles  west  of  Helena,  the  nearest  city  on  the  cast,  and  four 
hundred  miles  east  of  any  western  metropolis,  standing  alone 
between  the  Missouri  Kiver  and  Puget  Sound,  with  seven  rail- 
roads radiating  to  all  the  points  of  tho  compass,  and  bringing 
to  it  the  contributions  of  an  immense  area  of  trade. 

The  population  of  Spokane  Falls  is  about  thirty  thousand. 
There  ai'e,  I  am  told,  a  hundred  business  blocks,  costing  from 
thirty  thousand  dollars  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lare  each,  covering  the  bm*nt  district,  and  a  thousand  residences 
being  erected.  These  latter  are  chiefly  of  a  cost  to  suit  people 
of  moderate  means ;  but  the  city  contains  a  goodly  number  of 
elegant  and  even  sumptuous  dwellings,  excelled  by  few  in  any 
part  of  the  United  States,  and  the  impression  conveyed  by  a 
tour  about  the  streets  from  which  business  is  excluded  is  that 
there  is  an  unusual  number  of  refined  homes  in  proportion  to  the 
population.  This  impression  is  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of 
house-furnishing  establishments,  more  goods  of  a  costly  charac- 
ter being  sold  in  Spokane  Falls  than  in  any  other  town  in  Wash- 
ington. How  far  the  merchants  themselves  are  responsible  for 
this  extravagance — for  in  too  many  instances  it  is  extravagance 
— can  only  be  conjectured ;  but  I  know  that  the  same  fully  pre- 
vailed  in  California  in  an  early  period,  and  that  it  was  accounted 
for  not  only  by  the  facility  with  which  money  was  acquired,  but 
by  the  fact  that  cheap  goods  were  not  imported,  and  there  were 
no  local  manufactories,  therefore  people  were  compelled  to  buy 
that  which  the  market  afforded.  The  excuse  of  the  merchants 
was  that  for  such  long  distances  and  high  rates  of  freight  it 
did  not  pay  to  import  cheap  articles.  This  truth  at  once  points 
to  the  importance  of  home  manufactures. 

The  city  has  four  daily  newspapers  and  several  weeklies, 
nineteen  churches,  numerous  schools,  public  and  private,  three 
colleges,  a  home  for  the  friendless,  seven  banks,  a  mining  ex- 
change, and  many  handsome  public  baildings.  It  has  mills  for 
grinding  wheat  and  sawing  timber,  a  smeiter  for  the  reduction 


366 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


ti  I 


'.!' 


of  ores,  and  a  number  of  factories  in  lumber,  stone,  iron,  pottery, 
lime,  and  other  articles  in  daily  demand  and  use.  The  saies  of 
real  estate  in  Spokane  Falls  for  the  year  ending  in  December, 
1889,  amounted  to  eighteen  million  seven  hundred  and  fifty-six 
thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty-three  dollars,  and  for  the 
first  seven  months  of  1890  to  ten  million  eight  hundred  and 
seventy  thousand  dollars. 

If  you  inquire  of  a  citizen  of  Spokane  Falls  what  makes  his 
city  what  it  is,  he  will  answer  you  that  on  one  side  lies  a 
vast  region  of  the  richest  agricultural  lands,  rapidly  being  pop- 
ulated by  intelligent  farmers,  which  whether  sown  to  grain  or 
used  to  pasture  stock  are  productive  of  great  wealth,  and  on 
the  other  hand  there  are  mining  and  timber  regions  productive 
of  even  greater  wealth.  The  total  output  of  lumber  for  1889 
was  thirty  million  feet;  while  the  ore  shipments  from  Coeur 
d' Alene  Mines  in  the  same  period  were  seventj'-two  thousand  tons, 
of  an  aggregate  value  of  four  million  three  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  dollars.  The  total  of  freight  brought  by  the  railroads 
to  this  city  in  the  last  year  was  about  fifty  thousand  tons,  and 
the  freight-bills  paid  aggregated  two  million  dollars. 

The  city,  notwithstanding  its  recent  losses  by  fire,  paid  sub- 
sidies (o  railroads  to  the  amount  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  subscriptions  to  various  city  institutions  to 
the  amount  of  three  hundred  and  sixty-six  thousand  dollars. 

Such  are  the  figures  presented  to  one.  It  is  plain  from  these, 
and  from  everything  we  see  about  us,  that  there  is  an  abun- 
dance of  capital  in  Spokane  Falls.  Since  the  fire  a  good  q oal  of 
borrowed  capital  has  been  employed  to  build  up  again,  and 
much  of  the  fine  property  in  sight  is  covered  with  mortgages. 
But  this  fact  does  not  seem  to  depress,  much  less  dismay,  the 
mortgagors.  They  point  to  the  wheat-fields  of  the  Palouse 
country,  the  mines  of  .Kootenai,  Coeur  d'Alene,  Colville,  and 
Okanogan,  and  enumerate  with  pride  the  several  new  railroads 
which  will  soon  open  up  other  districts,  agricultural  and  mineral, 
and  always  mention  the  truly  magnificent  water-power  which 
is  destined  to  "  turn  the  wheels  of  progress."  With  a  popula- 
tion annually  almost  doubling,  it  seems  probable  enough  that 
the  paragon  oity  will  go  on  and  on  until  it  reaches  a  rank  on  the 
Pacific  coast  second  to  no  interior  city  on  the  Atlantic  slope. 


pottery, 
sales  of 
jcembor, 
fifty-six 
1  for  the 
Ired  and 

akes  his 
ie  lies  a 
Mng  pop- 
grain  or 
I,  and  on 
roductivo 
for  1889 
)m  CoBur 
land  tons, 
d  twenty 
railroads 
tons,  and 

paid  sub- 
^fty  thou- 
utions  to 
oUavs. 
om  these, 
an  abun- 
d  aoal  of 
^ain,  and 
ortgages. 
imay,  the 
Palouse 
ville,  and 

i-ailroads 
I  mineral, 
rer  which 

a  popula-  I  II 

)ugh  that 
nk  on  the 

slope. 


mM 


!il  J 


WHAT  ABOUT  SPOKANE? 


367 


The  plain  on  which  Spokane  Falls  is  built  is  finely  adapted  to 
the  pui'pose.  The  bluffs  recede  from  the  river  by  several  broad 
terraces  to  the  high  mountains  of  the  Spokane  and  Coeur 
d'Alene  Ranges  on  the  north  and  east,  and  melt  away  into  the 
rolling  plains  of  tlie  Palouse  and  Big  Bond  countries.  The  long 
slopes  up  from  the  river  are  beautifully  wooded  with  pines, 
which  stand  apart  with  grassy  intervals,  giving  the  country  a 
park-like  appearance,  and  causing  me  to  smile  when  1  remember 
the  repulsion  of  my  Walla  Walla  informant  towards  the  forest 
gloom  I  should  encounter  in  this  timber  region. 

Until  within  a  comparatively  recent  period  the  country  about 
Spokane  Falls  was  unoccupied.     During  the  period  of  mining 
exciteraent  in  the  '60's,  there  was  a  gi'eat  deal  of  passing  back 
and  forth  to  Colville  and  Northern  Idaho,  but  the  prevalent 
opinion  that  the  country  was  worthless  except  for  cattle-ranges 
deterred  settlers  of  a  more  enterprising  class.    About  1870  two 
men,  J.  J.  Downing  tind  S.  11.  Scranton,  built  a  small  saw-mill 
at  the  falls  of  the  Spokane,  which  in  1873  they  sold  to  James 
N.  Glover,  who  disposed  of  an  interest  to  C.  F.  Yeaton.    They 
had  also  laid  out  a  town-site,  which  they  did  not  sell.     There 
seems  to  have  been  some  settlement  by  this  time,  for  these 
owners  found  it  advisable  to  enlarge  the  capacity  of  their  mill 
from  five  hundred  feet  to  two  thousand  .^jt  per  diem.    A  trading- 
post  had  been  connected  with  the  mill  from  the  start,  which  the 
new  owners  enlarged,  and  a  few  more  people  had  gathered  in 
the  vicinity,  waiting  for  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  when 
its  financial  agent,  Jay  Cooke,  failed  and  railroad  construction 
ceased,  and  after  a  tedious  waiting  of  five  years,  from  1873  to 
1878,  the  mill  was  again  sold,  to  A.  M.  Cannon  and  J.  J.  Browne, 
together  with  a  half-interest  in  the  town-site  laid  out  bj'  the 
original  owners.     In  1876  a  flour-mill  was  erected  (which  is 
evidence  that  the  agricultural  capacity  of  the  country  had  been 
discovered)  by  Frederick  Post,  after  whom  Post  Falls  in  Idaho 
is  named.     The  occurrence  of  Indian   >vars  in  1873  and  1877 
drove  many  of  the  settlers  out  of  the  country,  v/hom  the  mili- 
tary hastened  in  their  flight. 

It  is  amusingly  related,  in  view  of  the  present  status  of  the 
country,  that  General  Sherman  expressed  himself  in  this  wise : 
"  This  country  is  not  fit  for  white  men,  at  any  rate.    Give  it  up 


i 


i 


368 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


i*> 


ii^ 


for  a  reservation  for  the  Indians,  and  go  olsowhore.  If  j'ou  nre 
bound  to  stay,  you  may  as  well  make  up  your  minds  to  keep 
your  guns  ready  and  fight  it  out.  We  cannot  cover  this  im- 
mense territory  with  a  few  companies  of  troops."  However, 
a  post  was  established  at  Cceur  d' Alone,  and  named  Fort 
Sherman,  and  the  people  remained. 

The  resumption  of  work  by  the  Northern  Pacific  brought 
an  increase  of  population,  and  when  the  road  was  opened  to 
Portland,  or  to  the  Columbia  Eiver,  in  1883,  Spokane  Falls  had 
fifteen  hundred  inhabitants.  At  the  present  rate  of  increase  it 
will  have  in  1893  eighty  thousand.  A  great  Northwestern  ex- 
position is  to  be  held  here  this  year,*  at  which  specimens,  of 
minerals  found  in  the  adjacent  mountain  regions  will  be  among 
the  most  important  exhibits,  although  grains,  fruits,  and  woods 
will  attract  much  attention  for  their  excellence. 

I  was  shown  a  novelty  recently  discovered  at  Port  Spokane, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Spokane  Eiver.  It  is  a  white  sand  of  a 
cubular  form,  looking  like  granulated  sugar.  "When  found  it  is 
in  a  compact  form  like  rock,  but  on  being  struck  with  a  ham- 
mer falls  into  loose  particles.  The  only  mineral  known  to  re- 
semble it  is  found  in  Fostoria,  Ohio,  and  is  used  for  making 
glass.  In  this  city  this  snow-white  sand  is  used  in  finishing 
plaster,  and  makes  a  wall  like  marble,  on  whicli  the  most  deli- 
cate tints  can  be  brought  out  in  frescoing.  As  for  marble,  there 
are  mountains  of  it  along  the  Spokane  River,  and  a  rose-colored 
building-stone  which  calls  to  mind  Ruskin's  "  Stones  of  Venice." 


!  mi^  ■■ 


The  second  day  after  my  arrival  I  took  passage  on  the  Seattle, 
Lake  ^hore  and  Eastern  for  Medical  Lake,  fifteen  miles  from  the 
city,  and  a  popular  resort.  The  road  winds  among  the  hills,  in 
company  with  the  Spokane  River,  which  is,  everywhere  that  I 
saw  it,  most  picturesque  and  interesting.  The  windings  bring 
into  view  over  and  over  again  ihe  city  at  the  falls,  until  having 
climbed  high  enough  the  road  enters  a  region  of  fir,  cedar, 
pine,  and  tamarack,  not  much  resembling  the  forests  of  West 
Washington,  but  sufficiently  woodsy  to  justify  a  plainsman  in 
warning  a  metropolitan  against  it.  ' 


*  It  was  successfully  held,  and  a  beautiful  "  Souvenir"  published. 


)U  ftre 

keep 
ia  im- 
ft-ever, 

Fort 

rought 
aed  to 
Ub  had 
ease  it 
arn  ex- 
ens,  of 
among 
,  woods 

pokane, 
nd  of  a 
ind  it  is 
a  ham- 
n  to  re- 
making 
inishing 
ost  deli- 
e,  there 
colored 
Venice." 

Seattle, 
from  the 

hills,  in 
that  I 
gs  bring 
1  having 
r,  cedar, 

of  West 
ismnn  in 


abed. 


e 


^  WHAT   ABOUT  SPOKANE?  369 

Along  the  river  for  a  few  miles  I  observed  woodcutting  and 
brick  making,  with  farming  and  gardening,  and  u  good  deal  of 
sottlomont  all  the  way.  I  found  Medical  Lal<o  to  be  one  of  four 
small  lakes,  the  others  being  named  Silver  Lake,  Ceilar  Lake, 
and  West  Medical  Lake.  Silver  Lake,  the  largest  of  the  group, 
is  to  be  connected  with  Medical  Lake  by  a  "motor"  line,  but 
whether  the  motor  is  to  be  steam  or  electricity  I  did  not  learn. 

By  comparing  the  locality  with  my  recollections  of  history, 
and  with  Lawrence  Kip's  "Army  Life  on  the  Pacific,"  and  "  In- 
dian Council  in  the  Valley  of  the  Wrlla  Walla,"  I  perceived  that 
this  was  historic  ground,  where  Colonel  Wright  had  fought  the 
Spokancs  at  the  Battle  of  the  Four  Lakes,  when  ho  so  humbled 
them  that  they  have  made  no  more  trouble  to  the  present  time. 

Medical  Lake  is  two  miles  long  by  one-half  mile  in  width,  and 
sixty  feet  in  depth.  There  is  a  bluff  shore  on  the  west  side 
covered  with  pines,  and  on  the  east  side  a  bold  and  treeless  ele- 
vation, on  which  the  town  is  laid  out.  Taking  a  carriage  at  the 
train  I  drove  by  a  pleasant  road  along  the  west  shore  of  the 
lake  a  mile  or  more  to  some  pleasure-resorts  on  the  water  side, 
and  back  around  the  north  end  to  a  hotel  near  the  lake,  ajul 
afterwards  made  a  voyage  to  its  south  end  in  a  steam-launch. 
Having  thus  seen  it  from  all  points,  I  visited  the  works  where 
the  salts  are  manufactured  by  evaporation  of  the  waters,  and 
was  shown  over  them  by  their  superintendent.  Dr.  Middaugh, 
who  also  exhibited  various  testimonials  to  the  remedial  value  of 
the  waters,  and  the  salts  extracted  from  them. 

An  analysis  of  a  gallon  of  the  water  gives,  in  grains — 

Sodic  chloride 16.870 

Potassic  chloride 9.241 

Lithic  carbonate Traces 

Sodic  carbonate 68.548 

Magnesic  carbonate 288 

Ferrous  carbonate 526 

Calcic  carbonate    .    .    ; 186 

Aluminic  oxide 175 

Sodic  silicate 10.638 

Potassic  sulphate       Traces 

Sodic  diborate Traces 

Organic  matter .661 

101.468 
24 


li:i 


I    U 


i'. 


'!:,      Ih 


^^  ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 

Various  tales  are  related  as  coming  from  the  Indians  concern- 
ing the  cleansing  and  healing  qualities  of  the  lake  water;  but 
the  simple  story  of  a  herder  with  a  band  of  scabby  sheep  who 
after  being  vashod  in  the  lake  recovered  of  their  sores  appealed 
most  strongly  to  ray  belief,  the  sodic  quality  being  so  evident  in 
the  water  as  to  recommend  it  without  argument  as  an  anti- 
scorbutic. All  this  is  not  at  all  romantic, — I  always  avoid 
"  health  resorts"  where  one  meets  unwholesome  people, — never- 
theless, Medical  Lake  is  a  pretty  place,  with  a  population  of 
nine  hundred  inhabitants,  many  of  whom,  it  is  said,  have  been 
healed  of  their  infirmities  by  the  lake  waters. 

On  the  bluflT  west  of  the  lake  is  the  State  Hospital  for  the 
Insane,  a  large  and  handsome  structure,  whicl)  is  not  yet  fin- 
ished and  furnished,  but  which  adds  a  noble  feature  to  the  land- 
scape. At  the  close  of  a  pleasant  day  I  returned  to  my  hotel 
to  listen  to  the  music  of  the  falls,  and  again  to  ponder  upon 
the  wonders  of  that  strangely  rapid  devdojjment  of  material 
resources  which  is  seen  in  its  most  surprising  forms  in  the 
Northwest. 

Perhaps  one  should  not  be  surprised  who  studies  the  situation 
of  Spokane  Falls,  which  is  the  centre,  as  has  already  been  in- 
dicated, of  a  great  extent  of  productive  country,  whose  con- 
formation and  arrangement  are  exceedingly  fortunate.  Within 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  Spokane  are  no  less  than  twelve 
rivers.  Of  these  the  Columbia,  Snake.  Okanogan,  Pend 
d'Oreille,  Kootenai,  and  Spokaqe  are  important.  The  others 
are  the  St.  Mary's,  St.  Joseph's,  Cceur  d'Alene,  Methow,  Col- 
ville,  and  Priest.  The  branches  of  all  these  make  up  a  fine 
system  of  natural  irrigation.  Besides  the  use  to  which  these 
streams  can  be  put  in  floating  the  timber  of  the  mountains  to 
market,  they  are  objects  of  beauty,  and  a  joy  to  the  resident  or 
traveller  alike.  Several  of  them  are  connected  with  lakes 
charmingly  picturesque  in  appearance  and  navigable.  There 
are,  besides,  a  great  number  of  smaller  lakes  within  a  radius  of 
forty  miles, — one  for  every  mile, — while  in  a  radius  of  one  hun- 
dred miles  there  are,  large  and  small,  fully  eighty.  The  best 
known  and  most  beautiful  of  these  are  Lakes  Cceur  d'Alene, 
Pend  d'Oreille,  Kanisku,  Diamond,  Loon,  Spirit,  Fish,  Hoodo, 
Hayden,  Kootenai,  Upper  and  Lower  Arrow,  Okanogan,  and 


I  r 


,i?    !, 


WHAT  ABOUT  SPOKANE? 


icern- 
•;  but 
)  who 
pealed 
ent  in 
1  anti- 
avoid 
-never- 
tion  of 
re  been 

for  the 
yet  fin- 
[le  land- 
ly  hotel 
cr  upon 
material 
5  in  the 

situation 
I  been  in- 
ose  con- 
Within 
twehe 
Pond 
le  others 
low,  Col- 
ip  a  fine 
ch  these 
n tains  to 
sident  or 
h  lakes 
There 
radius  of 
one  hun- 
The  best 
d'Alene, 
h,  Hoodo, 


Chelan.  Some  of  these  lakes  are  nearly  one  hundred  miles 
long,  with  a  width  of  one-third  that  distance.  Spirit  Lake  is 
one  of  the  smaller  class,  and  a  bit  of  Swiss  sccncr)',  while  Cceur 
d'Alene  is  widely  celebrated  for  its  beautj-,  and  Lake  Chelan,  in 
the  Okanogan  country,  with  an  area  of  fifty  square  miles,  is 
only  wailing  to  be  as  well  known  to  become  its  rival. 

Clarke's  Fork  of  the  Columbia,  or  that  portion  of  it  known 
as  the  Pend  d'Oreille  River,  furnishes  some  of  the  wildest  and 


5gan, 


and 


LAKE  PKND  D'OREILLK. 

grandest  scenery  to  be  found  anywhere.  It  is  a  stream  from  one- 
half  to  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  width  between  tlio  lake  and 
the  Columbia,  but  when  within  twenty-five  miles  of  the  junction 
it  rushes  through  a  cafion  twenty  feet  in  width,  with  walls  from 
two  hundred  to  six  hundred  feet  in  height.  The  water  boils 
and  tumbles,  throwing  its  waves  up  forty  feet.  The  gauge  of  a 
former  flood  is  seen  in  a  tree-trunk  lodged  between  the  walls 


fl 


372 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


H 


two  hunJred  feot  above  the  ordinary  stage.  Below  the  caflon 
a  few  mUes  is  a  full  of  great  height.  This  is  in  the  Metaliue 
mining  district,  of  which  I  shall  have  more  to  stiy  in  another 
place. 

The  whole  of  East  Washington  lying  between  the  forty -eighth 
and  forty-ninth  parallels  is  divided  into  three  parts  of  about 
equal  extent;  that  '\  ing  east  of  the  upper  Columbia  is  spoUeu 
of  as  the  Colville  country,  and  is  both  agricultural  and  mineral 
in  its  resources.  A  separate  account  being  given  of  its  several 
mining  districts  it  is  necessary  here  only  to  remark  that  it  con- 
tributes daily  from  forty  to  one  hundred  tons  of  smelting-oi  es 
10  the  works  in  Spokane  Falls. 

Colville  Valley  is  a  body  of  rich  land,  which  extends  from 
the  mouth  of  Colville  River  to  within  forty-five  miles  of  Spo- 
kane Falls.  In  the  days  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  occu- 
pation Fort  Colville  was  a  point  of  the  greatest  importance  to 
the  \merican  missionary  settk  jcnts,  one  of  which  was  on  the 
Little  Spokane  River,  and  the  others  at  Walla  Walla  and  on  the 
Clearwater,  in  Idaho.  All  the  wheat  the  southern  missionaries 
had  to  eat  for  several  years  came  from  the  Colville  Valley,  and 
was  carried  on  horseback  to  their  station,  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  I 

The  Roman  Catholic  fathers  also  established  missions,  a  little 
later  than  the  Protestants,  in  the  Colville  country  and  among 
the  Coour  d' Alone?*  and  Peiid  d'Oreilles.  Of  the  Protestant  mis- 
sions there  remains  hardly  a  ti*aco,  but  the  Catholics  still  hold 
their  ground.  The  first  log  house  of  the  Catholic  mission  at 
Kettle  Falls,  (m  the  Columbia  near  the  company's  fort,  may  still 
be  seen,  but  the  spirit  of  it  has  removed  to  the  newer  town  of 
Colville,  a  dozen  miles  east  of  the  Columbia.  This  place  u  as 
the  joint  result  of  mining  and  military  matters,  a  post  having 
been  established  here  during  the  Indian  disturbances  of  1859, 
which  followed  upon  the  rush  to  the  JBritish  Columbia  mines. 
Some  Fiench  and  half-breed  settlers,  with  a  few  Americans,  re- 
mained in  the  valley  upon  farms,  where  civilization  is  at  length 
in  danger  of  overtaking  them.  A  railroad— the  Spokane  and 
Northern — passes  up  the  Valley  to  Colville,  and  terminates  be- 
yond at  Little  Dalles  of  tie  Columbia,  where  the  great  river 
offers  one  of  its  several  obstacles  to  navigation. 


WHAT   ABOUT  SPOKANE? 


373 


caflon 
detail  lie 
mother 

-eighth 
f  about 
spoken 
mineral 
several 
t  it  con- 
.ing-orcs 

ds  from 
i  of  Spo- 
y''s  occu- 
tance  to 
8  on  the 
id  on  the 
>8ionaiie8 
tUey,  and 
and  fifty 

.3,  a  little 
id  among 
stant  mis- 
still  hold 
aission  at 
,  may  still 
I-  town  of 
place  was 
)8t  having 
Da  of  1859, 
bia  mines, 
jricans,  re- 
al length 
okane  and 
ninates  be- 
^reat  river 


The  railroad  takes  a  nearly  direct  northerly  course,  striking 
the  upper  valley  of  the  Little  Spokane.  Within  a  year  con- 
siderable improvement  has  been  made  within  reach  of  the  road 
as  fast  as  it  was  opened.  Walker's  Prairie,  named  after  Elkanah 
Walkei",  Presbyterian  missionary  of  1837,  and  forty-five  miles 
above  Spokane  Falls,  has  now  a  settlement, — Squire  City,  or 
Springdale, — with  several  business  houses,  and  a  daily  mail, 
whereas  twelve  months  ago  there  was  no  trading-pos*^  within 
thirty-five  miles.  The  railroad  and  the  discovery  of  mines  at 
Chemokano  have  made  the  diflerence.  Walker's  Prairie  is  a 
good  farming  country,  whore  grain  grows  enormously  high 
and  vegetables  marvellously  large.  There  are  few  settlements 
as  yet  in  the  southern  part  of  Stevens  County  (named  after 
General  I.  I.  Stevens),  and  those  few  quite  insignificant. 

Chewelah,  a  place  of  importance  on  account  of  it'^  mines, 
spoken  of  in  another  place,  is  at  the  foot  of  the  Colville  Valley. 
From  here  to  Colville  City,  twenty-three  miles,  the  road  runs 
through  a  natural  meadow,  and,  as  hay  is  a  profitable  crop,  there 
is  little  inducement  to  cultivate  the  soil.  Tlie  town  of  Colville, 
which  contains  about  eight  hundred  inhabitants,  is  picturesquely 
situated  at  an  altitude  of  about  fourteeen  hundred  feet,  with 
the  valley  on  the  west  defined  by  timbered  hills  beyond,  and 
mountain  walls  encircling  it  on  the  north  and  east.  The  air  of 
this  region  is  recommended  for  throat  diseases,  and  the  beautiful 
drives  about  Colville  are  certainly  an  inducement  to  test  it. 
The  country  around  is  adapted  to  dairying,  hop-growing,  and 
fruit-raising  rather  than  to  the  production  of  cereals,  which  re- 
quire more  room  to  become  profitable.  Streams  are  numerous. 
Snow  falls  and  remains  without  drifting  during  the  winter 
montlis,  melting  into  the  earth  in  the  spring. 

But  Colville  does  not  depend  upon  the  value  of  its  soil  for 
farming.  It  is  the  centre  of  a  rich  mining  district,  and  boasts 
of  a  smelter  which  turn  i  oul  throe  and  a  half  tons  of  bullion 
per  day,  while  already  the  erection  of  substantial  improvements 
in  building  has  commenced. 

The  Spokane  Northern  Eailroad  has  a  branch  from  Colville 
to  the  Columbia  River  at  Marcus,  a  distance  of  eighteen  miles, 
and  from  Marcus  north  along  the  Columbia  to  its  terminus  at 
Little   Dalles.     A  number  of   town-sites  have  been  surveyed 


l.i 


Ul 


II     I 


374 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN, 


along  the  line  of  the  railroad  from  Colville  to  Little  Dalles,  of 
which  Kettle  Falls,  below  Marcua  five  or  six  miles,  is  the  most 
promising.  Should  the  government  clear  the  channel  of  the 
Columbia  of  the  obstructions  at  this  place,  and  the  Indian  reser- 
vation be  opened  up,  all  of  which  seems  probable  in  the  future. 
Kettle  Falls  miglit  become  a  not  unworthy  rival  of  Spokane 
Falls.  Much  of  this  now  merely  suggested  greatness  will  de- 
pend on  the  x'o^ite  of  the  Great  Northern  Eailroad. 

The  Columbia  from  the  mouth  of  Spokane  River  flows  sharply 
west,  though  with  many  a  deviation  from  a  true  course,  for 
sixty  miles  as  the  crow  flies,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Okanogan  or 
Okinakane  Eiver,  a  large  tributary  from  the  north  which 
parallels  the  main  river  above  the  b'^nd  made  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Spokane,  and  forms  the  wes;,ern  boundary  of  a  reservation 
set  apart  for  the  Colville  Indians  after  the  disturbances  of  1877. 
This  tract  of  country  is  unsurveyod  and  little  explored,  but  is 
understood  to  be  a  mountainous  region,  containing  small  and  fer- 
tile valleys.  It  is  doubtless  inch  in  minerals  and  timber,  but  at 
present  is  held  by  about  seven  hundred  Indians,  who  do  (if  they 
do  nothing  else)  a  good  deal  to  preserve  a  small  portion  of  the 
earth's  surface  in  a  state  of  nature. 

West  of  the  Okinakane  is  wbat  is  known  as  the  Okanogan 
country',  which  is  interesting  at  present  chiefly  on  account  of  its 
mines,  although  the  valley  of  the  Methow  River  is  known  io 
be  of  great  fertility,  and  the  whole  is  a  good  grazing  section. 
The  onl}'  part  which  is  surveyed  is  south  of  Lake  Chelan  and 
the  forty-eighth  parallel,  but  fanning  settlements  are  being  made, 
and  I  heard  of  an  orchard  of  eight  hundred  apple-trees  and 
various  small  fruits,  including  peaches,  apricots,  and  grapes, 
all  in  a  healthful  condition  of  growth.  Ruby  City,  Silver  City, 
and  other  mining  camps  are  at  present  the  only  towns  in  this 
section,  which  is  regarded  as  exceedingly  rich  in  minerals. 
Streams  ai*e  numerous,  and,  coming  from  the  mountains,  serve 
admirably  for  mining  or  irrigating  purposes,  and  their  names 
are  those  of  aborigina'  origin,  like  the  Loop-Loop,  Chiiliwhist, 
Eptiat,  Zurvush,  Chewuch,  Stomekin,  Twursp,  Conconully, 
Wenatchee  at  the  southei-n  boundary,  and  Similkameen  at  the 
northeni.     This  region  is  not,  strictly  speaking,  tributary  to 


PI 


r 


j.lj 


1.  Si| 


;  1^"'  ' 

m 

WHAT  ABOUT  bPOKANi  V 


376 


Spokane  Falls,  being  west  of  the  Columbia  and  quite  as  near 
Tacoma  as  Spokane.  But  the  latter  is  making  all  the  effort  to 
connect  it  by  railroad  to  itself,  and  will  undoubtedly  pi-evail, — 
the  Spokane  and  Northern  and  the  Washington  Central  both 
reaching  out  after  it.  A  more  particular  account  of  the  Okano- 
gan mines  is  reserved  for  another  place. 

The  remainder  of  East  Washington  included  between  the 
Columbia  and  Snake  Elvers  on  the  west  and  south  is  divided 
by  popular  consent  into  the  "  Big  Bund  country,"  consisting  of 
six  or  seven  millions  of  acres  enclosed  by  the  western  bend  of 
the  Columbia,  whose  southeast  line  extends  from  a  point  twenty- 
five  miles  west  of  Spokane  Falls  to  Pasco,  near  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Columbia  and  Snake  Rivers,  and  "  the  Palouse 
country,"  which  includes  all  of  Whitman  County,  or  all  the 
country  on  the  Palouse  River  and  its  branches. 

A  subdivision  of  the  Big  Bend  country  is  known  as  "  Sage- 
brush land,"  and  this  sti-ip,  unfortunately  for  the  pleasure  of 
travellers  of  the  present  period,  is  on  the  main  line  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad.  The  soil  is  a  light  nandy  loam, 
which  is  not  anywhere  available,  without  irrigation,  for  the  pur- 
poses of  agriculture,  but  in  this  case  is  also  "  scabbj',"  or  rough- 
ened with  outcroppings  of  basalt. 

The  western  part  of  the  Big  Bend  country,  embracing  be- 
tween four  and  five  million  acres,  was  originally  covered  with 
the  nutritious  bunch-grass,  and  whei'ever  bunch-grass  grows  the 
land  is  good  for  farming  without  irrigation, — a  discovery  only 
made  in  recent  times.  One  may  travel  a  whole  day  (by  stage) 
between  Moses's  Rancho  and  the  mouth  of  the  Okanogan  River 
without  seeing  in  any  place  ten  acres  of  land  which  cannot  be 
ploughed  and  which  will  not  return  a  rich  harvest.  I  have  it 
from  good  authority,  Judge  W.  Lair  Hill,  of  Seattle,  that  the 
Big  Bend  country  contains  "two  thousand  square  miles  of  the 
finest  wheat  land  on  earth,"  and  I  learn  from  residents  in  it  that 
there  are  no  less  than  fifty  thoii-;and  acres  in  crop  this  year 
which  will  yield  twenty-five  busliels  to  the  acre.  Its  only  way 
out,  however,  is  by  wagon  to  EUensburg  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Columbia.  No  wonder  the  people  of  Spokane,  EUensburg,  and 
the  Big  Bend  country  are  impatient  for  a  railroad. 

Wuterville  is  the  county-seat  of  Douglas  County  in  this  great 


376 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


:!i'. 


wheat-producing  region,  but  is  waiting  for  the  completion  of 
the  Washington  Central  to  start  it  on  n  career  of  prosperity,  to 
he  supplemented  by  the  arrival  of  the  Great  Northern,  whose 
route  is  not  yet  selected. 

There  are  a  number  of  towns  in  that  part  of  the  Big  fiend 
country  included  in  Lincoln  Count}-,  near  the  Columbia,  among 
which  Wilbur  is  spoken  of  as  taking  the  lead  as  an  agricultural 
centre.  A  country  that  grows  wheat  and  oats  six  feet,  and  rye 
eight  feet  in  height,  should  have  towns  every  thirty  miles,  and 
is  a  good  hind  in  which  to  place  the  agricultural  college. 

Coulee  City,  on  the  Columbia,  is  a  striking  example  of  the 
growth  of  towns  in  this  age  of  town-building.  A  quarter 
of  a  year  ago  there  was  nothing  here  but  a  camp  of  railroad 
graders.  All  about  waved  perennial  grasses,  while  the  view  was 
broken  hero  and  there  by  dilces  of  crumbling  basalt,  and  the 
only  moving  things  in  the  landscape,  aside  from  the  railroad 
graders,  were  a  few  cattle  feeding,  a  rabbit,  perhaps,  followed 
by  a  sneaking  coyote,  or  a  curlew  lifting  its  watchful  eyes  and 
long  bill  above  a  tuft  of  the  prevailing  bunch-grass.  But  now  I 
Well  levelled  streets  stretch  from  one  side  of  the  town-plot  to 
the  other.  Two  good  bridges  span  the  creek  on  which  it  stands ; 
substantial  buildings  are  rising  all  along  the  main  avenue;  well- 
stocked  stores  and  business  houses  of  every  class  are  in  place, 
and  the  improvements  belonging  to  a  railroad  division  station 
are  already  here.  A  system  of  water-works  is  under  construc- 
tion, a  school-district  is  organized  and  a  school-house  under 
way,  with  a  church-building  in  contemplation,  a  seven-column 
newspaper  on  the  spot,  and  a  bank  promised.  Such  is  the 
method  of  all  these  railroad  or  land-company  towns.  This  one  is 
expected  to  be  the  terminal  point  for  freight  going  to  Okanogan, 
Methow,  Lake  Chelan,  Wanacut  Lake,  Waterville,  Douglas  City 
(on  the  road  from  Sprague),  and  the  Conconully  country.  So 
long  as  it  holds,  this  position  it  will  make  progress,  and  in  the 
end  establish  itself  on  the  merits  of  the  Big  Bend  country. 

Coulee  claims  the  attractions  of  being  in  the  midst  of  "the 
best  agricultural  lands  to  be  found  out  of  doors ;"  a  cool  climate 
in  summer,  but  one  that  will  bring  to  perfection  all  the  fruits 
of  the  temperate  zone.  In  the  vicinity  is  a  bottomless  lake 
surrounded  by  a  natural  park,  and  that  by  scenes  of  the  utmost 


to 


and 


WHAT   ABOUT  SPOKANE? 


377 


grandeur,  all  of  which  features  conspire  to  make  this  a  charm- 
ing summer- resort.  Most  of  this  is  evident  and  true.  But  one 
wearies  of  the  immensity  and  even  of  the  scenic  attractions  of 
the  great  Northwest :  you  travel  so  far  to  find  something  that, 
although  undeniably  fine,  difiers  from  the  view  in  some  other 
place  only  by  so-and-so.    , 

And  yet  right  here  we  have  at  hand  one  of  the  wonders  of 
the  earth, — the  Grand  Coulee.  It  used  to  be  called  the  "Grand 
Coulee  of  the  Columbia,"  from  an  impression  that  the  waters 
of  the  great  river  had  some  time  run  through  it.  Closer  obser- 
vation has  done  away  with  that  theory  of  its  formation,  and  it 
is  now  seen  to  be  a  vent  in  the  earth,  over  one  hundred  miles  in 
length,  and  from  three  to  eight  miles  in  breadth,  with  walls  in 
many  places  over  one  thousand  feet  in  height.  These  walls  are 
basalt,  thrown  out  at  four  several  periods,  as  the  rocks  give 
evidence.  All  the  curious  features  of  the  place  are  easily  ex- 
plained if  we  bear  this  fact  in  mind.  •  But  this  rent  in  the  lava 
was  made  after  the  last  of  these  outflows  had  cooled  and 
hardened,  because  the  opposite  sides  match.  There  are  no  traces 
of  the  action  of  water,  no  gravel,  no  water  rolled  boulders, 
no  indications  of  detritus  at  its  lower  end,  w^hich  is  at  Island 
Eapids  of  the  Columbia,  as  its  upper  end  is  just  west  of  Coulee 
City. 

Among  the  many  curious  forms  of  the  rocks  is  one  called 
the  Steamboat,  from  its  resemblance  to  a  river  boat.  It  is  in 
the  Coulee,  about  eighteen  miles  from  Coulee  City,  and  the 
stern-post  of  the  steamer  is  fourteen  hundred  feet  above  the 
bottom  of  the  chasm.  Only  on  the  eastern  side  can  one  climb 
to  the  deck,  but  once  there  a  fine  view  of  this  enormous  crevasse 
is  obtained.  About  half-way  up  a  five-hundredfoot  slide  of 
loose  angular  rock,  on  the  ascent  to  the  Steamboat,  are  two 
deposits  of  ice,  which  melting  a  little  on  the  surface  furnish  ice- 
water  to  the  thirsty,  and  are  called  "  ice-springs."  It  is  thought 
the  snows  of  winter  furnish  the  water  and  a  draught  of  cold  air 
the  freezing,  this  having  been  carried  on  until  a  solid  body  of 
ice  has  formed  among  the  rocks,  which  melts  a  little  by  day  and 
freezes  again  by  night,  so  that  the  supply  remains  from  season 
to  season.  It  is  not  clear  to  me,  however,  how  it  is  that  not 
enough  heat  gets  in^o  the  interstices  of  the  rocks  to  liquefy  the 


li 


1,1 


378 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


I  !  :t 


i'i"! 


'\i\ 


i 


ice  in  the  course  of  a  summer,  when  the  sun's  reflection  from 
the  walls  of  this  crevice  is  intense.  In  the  bottom  of  the  Coulee 
are  numerous  lakes  and  ponds,  which  gleam  like  silver  on  their 
emerald  background. 

Toward  its  southwestern  end  the  Grand  Coulee  is  divided  into 
smaller  fissures,  but  nowhere  except  here  at  Coulee  City  is  there 
a  crossing  which  could  be  used  by  a  railroad  ;  and  this  one  fact 
secures  for  this  place  a  certain  future. 

That  strip  of  country  through  which  the  Northern  Pacific 
main  line  is  built  has  no  towns  of  any  consequence,  present  or 
prospective,  unless  Pasco,  \yy  its  position  with  relation  to  the 
Columbia  Eiver  and  railroads,  should  come  to  be  of  significance, 
as  before  intimated.  It  i«  the  county-seat  of  Franklin  County, 
as  Kitzville  is  of  the  adjoining  county  of  Adams.  Ritzville  is 
named  after  Philip  Ritz,  formerly  of  Walla  Walla,  a  noted  fruit- 
grower, and  an  enterprising  citizen  of  East  Washington  in  ante- 
railroad  daj's,  There  is  -a  land-office  at  Ritzville.  Lincoln 
County  lies  north  of  Adams,  and  is  out  of  the  sage-brush  belt. 
It  only  partly  belongs  to  the  Big  Bend  country,  and  joins 
Spokane  County  on  the  east.  Its  county-seat  is  at  Sprague, 
named  after  General  J.  W.  Sprague,  of  Tacoma,  for  a  long  time 
an  officer  of  the  Northern  Pacific.  It  has  a  population  of  two 
thousand,  and  is  a  point  of  shipment  for  wheat,  cattle,  wool,  and 
other  productions  of  the  country.  It  is  well  built  and  enjoys  a 
large  trade. 

Cheney,  once  the  countj'-seat  of  Spokane  County,  and  a  seem- 
ingly prosperous  place,  has  apparently  lost  its  hold  upon  fortune, 
and  has  a  look  of  collapse  about  it.  It  is  prettily  situated  on  a 
plain,  with  a  growth  of  young  nines  on  a  gentle  slope  above  it. 
From  Cheney  tho  Northern  Pacific  runs  a  line  northwest  to 
Medical  Lake,  and  thence  north,  northwest,  and  west,  through 
a  farming  country,  to  Davenport  in  Lincoln  County,  paralleling 
the  Seattle,  Lake  Shore  and  Eastern,  and  making,  probably,  for 
the  Big  Bend  country.  Davenport  is  a  new  town  of  one  thou- 
sand inhabitants,  in  a  region  which  possesses  grazing,  agricult- 
ural, and  mineral  land.  A  good  deal  of  fruit  is  raised  and  marketed 
from  here ;  and  there  is  a  large  area  of  good  land  unimproved. 

The  Palouse  country  is  comprehended  within  the  limits  of 


WHAT  ABOUT  SPOKANE? 


379 


Whitman  County,  named  in  honor  of  Dr.  Marcus  Whitman, 
superintendent  of  the  Presbyterian  missions  in  Oregon  Terri- 
tory from  1836  to  1847,  when  he  was  killed,  with  his  wife  and 
others,  by  the  Cayuse  Indians,  who  had  become  jealous  of  and 
infuriated  against  Americans,  on  account  of  the  annual  immi- 
grations arriving  in  the  country  for  several  years  previous,  and 
for  other  reasons.  As  the  first  American  settler  in  Washington, 
Dr.  Whitman  is  entitled  to  the  distinction  of  having  his  name 
given  to  the  finest  agricultural  county  in  it. 

The  PalousB  country,  which  really  includes  a  portion  of 
Spokane  County,  is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  length 
by  an  aveiage  width  of  fifty  miles,  embracing  four  million  five 
hundred  thousand  acres,  two-thirds  of  which,  or  three  million 
two  hundred  thousand  aci'es,  is  available  for  wheat-growing,  and 
yields  more  grain  to  the  acre  than  any  other  portion  of  the 
United  States.  But  only  about  one-third  of  this  three  million  two 
hundred  thousand  acres  is  under  improvement,  and  only  about 
eight  hundred  thousand  in  wheat.  At  the  low  average  (for  this 
country)  of  twenty  bushels  per  acr  the  crop  would  amount  to 
sixteen  million  bushels.  If  only  twelve  million  bushels  were 
marketed  at  fifty  cents  peT  bushel,  the  crop  would  bring  six 
million  dollars ;  and  accordingly,  as  the  fields  are  looking  won- 
derfully well,  bright  hopes  are  entertained  of  a  profitable  year. 

[But  let  me  horo  write  between  the  lines  that  it  is  not  every 
year  that  a  full  crop  may  be  expected,  and  that  the  best  farmers 
summer-fallow  their  fields,  taking  a  crop  only  once  in  two  years, 
thus  saving  the  expense,  as  great  for  a  poor  as  a  good  year,  of 
putting  in  and  harvesting  on  the  off  3'oar,  while  they  get  a 
double  crop  after  letting  the  land  lie  idle. 

The  year  1890  was  a  good  one  all  over  East  Washington,  and 
the  amount  of  wheat  raised  in  the  Palouse,  Walla  Walla,  and 
Big  Bend  countries  did  not  fall  short  of  thirty  million  bushels. 
Farmers  looked  at  their  fields  and  expected  to  grow  rich  quickly. 
But  behold  how  the  unexpected  happens  I  Although  the  trans- 
portation companies  were  informed  of  the  prospects  of  an  un- 
usual demand  for  their  services,  they  made  no  preparations  to 
meet  it.  The  market  prices  opened  fairly,  but  declined  when  it 
was  found  there  was  an  overplus.  Wheat-elevators  and  store- 
houses were  filled,  and  thousands  of  tons  lay  piled  upon  the 


i  I 


II 


if    I 


f:    t  ■ 


880 


ATLANTIS   ARIBEN. 


ground  exposed  to  the  weather.  Freight-cars  could  not  be  ob- 
tained to  carry  it  either  to  Chicago  or  Tacoraa,  and  one  general 
wail  went  up  from  the  Paloiise  country  as  prices  went  down. 
The  railroad  and  elevator  companies  wore  accused  of  combining 
against  the  farmers.  The  facts  when  sifted  down  seemed  to 
show  that  the  ruilroads  had  been  negligent;  that  the  people 
themselves  were  negligent  in  not  securing  river-transportation 
to  Portland  or  not  making  known  to  European  ship-owners  the 
amount  of  the  season's  crop;  but,  even  if  all  the  wheat  raised 
had  been  carried  to  Portland  and  the  Sound,  there  was  not 
storage  for  it  while  vessels  made  a  four-months'  voyage  from 
Liverpool  to  receive  it. 

The  lesson  of  that  year  seems  to  be  that  railroad  and  other 
transportation  companies,  while  they  have  caused  and  encour- 
aged the  development  of  the  country,  have  not  themselves  been 
able  to  keep  pace  with  it.  Ii  seems  to  teach  also  that  there 
should  be  intelligent  organization  amongst  the  agriculturists, 
and  means  provided  against  loss.  The  Columbia  River  is  the 
natural  and  economical  outlet  for  the  grain  fields  of  East  Wash- 
ington and  Oregon.  Yet,  since  the  Oregon  Railway  and  Navi- 
tion  Company  have  owned  the  steamboats  on  this  river,  naviga- 
tion has  become  so  far  secondary  to  wheel  service  that  at  The 
Dalles,  in  November,  sacks  of  wheat  were  piled  ten  feet  high, 
and  from  a  quartei  t<  '-.alf  a  mile  in  length  of  line,  besides  that 
which  was  housed!  Ic  was  thus  accumulated  at  first  for  lack 
of  transportation,  at  d,  'Afterwards  held  for  higher  prices.  Steam- 
boat service,  sucii  lit.  the  Oregon  Steam-Navigation  Company 
formerly  furnished,  would  have  given  the  needed  relief,  the 
grain  have  been  moved  earlier,  and  prices  have  remained  firm 
while  vessels  came  to  take  it  away.  But,  why  should  vessels 
come?  Why  do  not  American  vessels  go  as  the^- are  needed? 
This  being  a  question  of  political  economj'^  to  be  settled  by  Con- 
gress or  Legislature,  I  leave  it  unanswered, 

It  should  here  be  remarked  that  this  blockade  in  transporta- 
tion causes  little  distress.  It  is  chiefly  embarrassing  as  affect- 
ing the  mercantile  class  whose  collections  are  impeded  by 
it.  The  good  effect  will  be  to  set  the  farmer.-i  thinking  what 
they  can  do  to  prevent  a  recurrence  of  similar  misfortunes. 
Already  the  Palouse  country  agriculturists  are  agitating  the 


WHAT   ABOUT  8P0KANE? 


381 


pi'oposition  lo  build  an  indopondont  railroad  to  Pugot  Sound, 
while  others  along  the  Columbia  propose  a  steuinboat  company. 
But  the  groat  railroadrt  arc  not  going  to  allow  independent  com- 
panies to  succeed,  although  the  fear  of  them  may  compel  a 
better  service.] 

It  is  not  to  grain  alone  that  land-ownorrt  are  now  giving  their 
attention,  although  when  wheat-raisers  have  a  good  year  they 
make  money  in  one  season.  Fruit  and  vegetables  arc  more 
profitable  per  aero,  and  fruit  once  in  bearing  gives  very  regular 
returns.  To  any  obsci-ver  it  is  evident  that  not  more  tlian  half 
ijuough  fruit  is  raised  for  the  requirements  of  the  population. 
Indeed,  how  should  it  be,  when  the  population  doubles  every 
year  or  two?  But  fruit  is  no  longer  an  exi)eriment  in  the 
Palouse  country,  and  largo  orchards  are  being  planted  along  the 
Palouse  Eiver,  while  in  the  SnaUe  Kiver  Valley  this  is  the  chief 
interest  of  the  settlers.  Spokane  depends  on  the  Snake  River 
Fruit  Growers'  Association  for  peaches,  pears,  prunes,  and  small 
fruits.  Even  the  Walla  Walla  crop  of  bcn-ies  and  peaches  may 
have  to  be  helped  out  b^'  their  abundance.  But  wliilo  fruit  is 
shipped  from  California,  as  it  now  is,  to  this  distant  region,  it  is 
evident  there  is  room  for  new  orchards. 

Colfax,  at  the  south  fork  of  the  Palouse  River,  of  which  I 
have  before  spoken,  is  the  county-seat  of  Whitman,  and  a 
thriving  place  of  seven  or  eight  hundred.  It  was  founded 
about  1876,  and  is  touched  by  railroads  from  three  directions, — 
roads  that  go  everywhere  but  in  a  straight  line,  seeking  freights 
from  the  great  grain  centres.  One  of  these  is  over  the  line  in 
Idaho,  at  Genesee ;  another,  also  in  Idaho,  at  Moscow ;  Garfield, 
Farmington,  Salteese,  Oaksdale,  Rosalia,  all  in  Whitman  County ; 
and  another  at  Rockford,  in  Spokane  County.  Most  of  these 
roads  were  or  are  being  consti'ucted  by  the  Oregon  Railway  and 
Navigation  Company. 

It  will  be  readily  seen  how  great  an  area  and  what  vast  re- 
sources Spokane  Palls  claims  as  tributary  to  itself  in  W-^shing- 
ton.  But  there  remains  to  be  added  the  rich  mineral  regions  of 
Cceur  d'Alene  and  Kootenai.  There  may  and  will  build  up 
rival  cities  in  the  Colville  and  Big  Bend  countries,  at  no  very  dis- 
tant day ;  but  the  pan-handle  of  Idaho  does  not  seem  adapted 
to  such  designs,  at  least  in  its  northern  end,  therefore  Spokane 


JW    <|! 


!   ;i 


}  Hy 


382 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


seems  quite  sure  of  a.  share  in  the  wealth  being  extracted  from 
its  mines. 

But  it  is  not  for  minerals  alone  that  the  Idaho  annex  to  "Wash- 
ington is  valuable.  Besides  the  rich  lands  about  Moscow  and 
Genesee,  the  large  bodies  of  timber  on  the  Cojur  d'Alene  and 
Pend  d'Oreilie  Elvers,  or  that  can  be  brought  to  the  mills  at 
Spokane  Falls,  either  by  floating  from  the  Coeur  'dAlene,  or  by 
railroad  when  the  Greai.  Northern  is  cOiT>p!eted  to  this  city,  con- 
stitute one  of  its  most  valuable  resources. 

Lake  Cceur  d'Alene  receives  the  waters  of  the  Ooeur  d'Alene, 
St.  Joseph,  and  St.  Mark's  Rivers.  Along  each  of  these  and  on 
the  mountains  grow  the  white  and  yellow  pine,  cedar,  and  tam- 
ari)'jk.  The  quality  of  this  timber  is  equal  to  that  of  Puget 
Sound,  and  the  cost  of  getting  it  out  is  small.  The  business  of 
"booming"  logs  to  Spokane  Falls  is  alrer.dy  begun,  one  mill 
there  cutting  one  hundred  thousand  feet  per  diem. 

Clarke's  Fork,  or  Pend  d'Oreilie  Eiver,  runs  out  of  the  lake, 
which  is  a  large  one,  and,  as  I  have  before  said,  falls  into  the 
Columbia,  and  consequently  cannot  be  used  for  booming  logs  to 
Spokane  Falls.  But  Priest  River,  which  flows  out  of  Kanisku 
Lake  into  Pend  d'OreilL  River,  near  the  lake,  has  upon  its 
borders  one  hundred  thousand  acres  of  pine,  cedar,  and  tamarack, 
some  of  the  pines  having  a  diameter  of  six  feet,  and  trunks  that 
are  clear  of  limbs  one  hundred  feet  from  the  ground. 

There  is  on  the  upper  Kootenai,  or  Flat-Bow  Eiver,  lying 
chieflj''  within  the  United  States,  and  on  the  eastern  prong  of 
the  bow  which  gives  the  river  its  name,  an  almost  unknown 
region,  which  is  only  now  beginning  to  be  heard  of.  It  is 
watered  b\'  many  streams  falling  into  the  Kootenai,  uamel}*,  the 
Mooyie,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  length  ;  the  Yakh,  ninety 
miles  long,  and  Half  a  dozen  creeks  of  considerable  size.  The 
mountains  lying  south  of  the  Koote.iai  are  heavily  timbered, 
and  those  on  the  north  less  densely  covered,  with  the  bunch- 
grass  growing  between. 

Along  both  banks  the  bottom-land  is  clear  and  covered  with 
grass.  This  strip  is  from  six  to  ten  miloe  in  width,  and  sixty  in 
length,  with  a  deep  soil  which  will  produce  any  kind  of  vegetables 
or  fruits  of  the  temperate  zone.  The  grass  grows  from  Marcn  to 
November,  and  millions  of  tons  of  hay  might  be  saved  annually. 


from 


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f  1 


WHAT  ABOUT  SPOKANE? 


383 


Ranchmen  are  already  driving  herds  in  here,  which  settlers  will 
in  time  drive  out.  The  country  will  not  be  improved,  however, 
until  it  is  drained,  above  the  boundary  line,  by  a  canal  from  the 
Kootenai  River  to  the  Upper  Columbia  Lake,  a  distance  of  little 
over  a  mile,  a  scheme  in  which  an  English  syndicate  is  interested. 
There  is  at  present  an  annua'  overflow  in  the  bottom-lands 
below  the  boundary,  which  it  is  believed  will  be  relieved  by  the 
canal  in  British  Columbia.  Mineral  discoveries  are  being  sought 
for  in  this  region,  and  to  some  extent  found,  in  galena  and  float- 
coal. 

The  rou<^j  to  this  new  wilderness  is  via  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad  to  Kootenai  Station,  on  Lake  Pend  d' Oreille,  thence  by 
toll-road  to  Kootenai  River,  eighty  miles,  and  by  boats  of  a 
quaint  fashion  th  •  remaining  distance,  or  as  fur  as  the  explorer 
pleases  to  go, — for  there  is  a  good  depth  of  water  for  over  two 
hundred  miles  up  into  British  ColumKia,  where  no  doubt  it  will 
soon  be  the  fashion  to  go  for  a  summer's  outing. 

At  Hauser  Junction  on  the  Northern  Pacific,  which  is  just 
east  of  the  Idaho  line,  a  branch  road  runs  south  to  Post  Falls 
on  the  Spokane  River,  which  is  the  outlet  of  Coeur  d'Alene 
Lake,  and  thence  to  Coeur  d'Alene  City  at  the  head  of  the  lake. 
This  eeautifully-located  place,  with  Fort  Sherman,  is  much 
resorted  to  by  travellers  and  residents.  On  its  southern  shore 
is  about  to  be  erected  a  club-house,  where  the  mining  men  resi- 
dent in  Coeur  d'Alene  raining  district  may  spend  their  Sundays. 
Is  this  suggestive  of  Cape  May  or  Long  Branch?  It  is  the 
same  thing  with  ?.  difference.  It  is  nineteenth-century  luxury 
in  the  midst  of  the  exciting  race  for  wealth  in  a  virgin  world. 
There  is  a  mountain  opposite  Pop.t  Falls  which  the  Indians 
regard  ad  having  a  benign  influence  upon  the  lives  of  those 
lovers  who  secK  its  influence  at  the  time  of  their  marriage.  It  is 
haunted  by  a  spirit  which  answers  to  the  Greek  god  Hymen. 
Here  are  held  the  wedding  festivities  of  the  Coeur  d'Alenes 
who  tr'ily  desire  love  and  unity. 

The  scenery  of  these  lumbering  and  mining  regions  is  on  a 
grand  scale.  It  educates  the  eye  of  tae  most  commonplace 
beholder,  as  it  also  broadens  his  knowledge  of  natural  science 
by  illustration  and  his  views  of  the  authorship  of  the  great  book 
of  creation  by  inference.    The  men  found  in  wilderness  places 


^ 


384 


ATLANTIS   ARISEX. 


il''^ 


4rm 


are  often  an  agreeable  surprise,  from  the  number  of  things  they 
are  able  to  teach  the  conventionally  educated.  But  it  is  not 
uncommon  to  find  among  prospoctoi's,  surveyors,  miners,  and 
bmibermen,  college-bred  men,  as  well  as  specimens  of  the  genus 
Li  -^^  every  other  variety.  The  rarest  of  all  is  to  find  one 
resc  .g  the  type  invented  for  literary  effect  by  writers  of 

AmeruvvA  fiction,  and  badly  copied  by  our  cousins  over  sea.  If 
there  is  one  in  all  this  Northwest,  he  remains  hidden  from  my 
observation. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 


^. 


ABOUT  OEOLOOY  AND   MINERALOGY  IN   WASHINGTON. 

The  history  of  the  formation  of  the  country  north  of  the 
Columbia  is  given  in  about  these  words  by  Professor  Condori : 

"  Louring  the  older  geological  period,  when  ine  Pacific  Ocean 
covei'ed  all  Washington  west  of  the  Blue,  Bitter  Root,  and 
Coeur  d'Alene  Mountains,  the  Cascade  Range,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  from  the  then  ocean-beach,  was  being  slowly  lifted 
up  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  until  it  formed  a  barrier  ex- 
cluding the  ocean  from  East  Washington,  and  changing  the  sea- 
shore to  the  west  slope  of  the  Cascades,  where  conditions  favor- 
able to  coal-depo.sits  existed,  resulting  in  the  laying  down  of  a 
vast  coal-field  extending  almost  from  the  northern  to  the  south- 
ern boundary  of  the  State. 

"  After  ages  given  to  the  draining  and  drying  up  of  the  inland 
sea  and  the  deposition  of  rocks  and  soils  eatt  of  the  Cascades, 
the  Coast  Range  was  elevated  in  the  same  gnidual  manner,  the 
ocean,  however,  npt  being  excluded  from  the  long  north-an'- 
south  depression  between  the  two  ranges.  This  is  shown  by 
the  fresh-water  sediment  in  the  later  rocks  of  the  interior, 
while  the  sediments  in  the  rocks  west  of  the  Cascades  are 
mariu€i.  As  in  the  former  instance  of  ujjheaval,  the  conditions 
again  favored  the  deposit  of  coal,  but  of  an  inferior  quality, 
being  lignites. 

"  The  glacial  period  following  the  tertiary,  grinding  down  the 
mountains  and  scooping  out  the  valleys,  gave  the  co":iUtry  its 


GEOLOGY   AND    MINERALOGY   IN    WASHINGTON.        385 

most  striking  features.  As  these  glaciers  moved  down  the 
mountains,  much  higher  then  than  now,  ice-floes  were  formed  in 
which  were  imbedded  blocks  of  slate  and  boulders  of  granite, 
and  as  these  floes  floated  on  the  waters  or  melted  on  the  earth 
where  they  were  stranded,  they  deposited  these  fragments  over 
the  future  State  of  Washington,  to  be  found  and  utilizcJ  in  our 
nineteenth  century.  When  the  glacial  period  was  passed  the 
waters  distributed  their  mud,  gravel,  and  sand,  forming  those 
deep  deposits  found  on  the  shores  of  Puget  Sound,  Gray's  Har- 
bor, and  Shoalwater  Bay.  Then  followed  another  period  during 
which  the  waters  were  drained  off  and  the  country  assumed  its 
present  general  appearance." 

From  this  history  is  deduced  these  facts  in  regard  to  minerals 
in  Washington :  The  coal-bearing  belt  on  the  west  slope  of  the 
Cascades  belongs  to  the  early  cretaceous  period,  as  do  also  the 
gold-bearing  slates,  limestones,  anr  marbles  of  East  Washington. 
But  the  sandstones,  bearing  marine  shells  of  a  later  type,  found 
abundantly  in  the  hills  bordering  the  Sound,  the  Chehalis  and 
the  Cowlitz  Rivers,  and  the  lignite  coals  of  West  Washington, 
belong  to  the  tertiary  period  ;  while  the  high,  light-colored 
bluffs  on  the  Sound  and  the  bays  before  referred  to  belong  to 
the  quaternary. 


Of  the  various  minerals  belonging  to  the  Northwest  coast 
already  enumerated  in  the  mineralogy  of  Oregon,  few  have 
been  to  any  extent  developed  in  Washington,  these  few  being 
coal,  iron,  gold,  silver,  limestone,  and  sandstone. 

Coal  was  known  to  exist  in  the  Cowlitz  Valley  as  early  as 
18-48,  when  a  small  quantity  was  sent  to  San  Francisco  to  be 
tested,  and  declared  worthless.  Two  years  later  it  was  dis- 
covered at  Skookum  Chuck,  one  of  the  forks  of  the  Chehalis 
River.  Meanwhile  it  had  been  heard  of  at  Bellingham  Bay, 
and  on  the  Stillaguaraish  River  about  the  same  period.  An 
analysis  of  croppings  was  made  in  1851  for  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy;  and  the  Pacific  Mail  Company,  whose  coal  cost  them 
forty  dollars  per  ton,  employed  agents  to  explore  for  th?s  mineral 
on  both  sides  of  the  Columbia. 

The  first  coal-claim  taken  up  was  by  William  Pattle,  an  Eng- 
lish subject,  looking  for  spar  timber  on  the  coast  of  the  Fuca 

25 


i'1 


u 


i]i' 


If  'f 

III      1 


386 


ATLA^'TIS   ARISEN. 


Sea,  in  October,  1852.  He  located  a  tract  immediately  south  of 
the  present  town-site  of  Sehome.  His  associates,  Morrison  and 
Thomas,  took  each  a  claim,  and  a  company  was  formed  called 
the  Paget  Sound  Coal-Mining  Association,  which  worked  the 
Belli ngham  Bay  mines  from  1860  to  1879,  with  an  average 
annual  yield  of  thirteen  thousand  tons.  A  coal  discovery  was 
also  reported  near  Clallam  Bay,  on  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  in  1867, 
whicb  was  never  worked. 

About  this  same  period  a  vein  of  coal  was  partially  opened 
on  Black  Eiver,  ten  miles  southeast  of  Seattle,  by  Dr.  E.  H. 
Bigelow,  who  sold  it  to  a  company,  which  failed  to  make  it 
remunerative,  on  account  of  its  remoteness  from  navigable 
waters,  and  other  causes.  Coul  had  also  been  found  in  Squak 
Valley,  fourteen  miles  east  of  Seattle,  and  a  few  tons  taken  out 
and  sold.  All  these  discoverie.^  and  efforts  failed,  partly  through 
want  o^  knowleilge  and  greatly  through  want  of  capital. 

At  length,  in  1863,  a  coal  claim  was  taken  up  eleven  miles 
southeast  of  Seattle  by  Philip  H.  Lewis,  whose  example  was 
followed  bj'  several  others,  and  a  company  was  formed.  A  road 
was  opened  to  Seattle,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  tons  of  coal 
were  sold  there  for  ten  dollars  a  ton,  and  used  on  steamers.  This 
drevv  attention  to  the  mine,  which  was  finally  incorporated 
under  the  name  of  the  Lake  "Washington  Company,  with  a  capi- 
tal stock  of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  In  1870  it  sold  out 
to  a  new  organization,  styling  itself  the  Seattle  Coal  Company. 
There  was  a  tramway  built  from  the  mine  to  Lake  "Washington, 
a  scow  and  small  steamer,  for  towing,  being  placed  on  the  lake. 
With  this  beginning  the  Seattle  company  was  able  to  make  a 
success  of  coal-mining. 

The  Eenton  Mine,  next  in  importance  and  point  of  time  to 
the  Seattle  Mine,  was  first  worked  about  1873,  and  has  proved 
profitable.  A  number  of  locations  were  made  on  Cedar  and 
Black  Elvers,  about  Seattle,  and  on  the  Stillaguamish,  Snoho- 
mish, and  Skagit  Elvers,  all  on  the  east  side  of  the  Sound. 

The  first  actual  prospecting  for  coal  in  the  Puyallup  Valley 
was  in  1874,  when  some  exploiting  was  done  on  Flett  Creek,  a 
tributa'-y  of  South  Prairie  Creek,  a  branch  of  the  Puyallup,  by 
an  association  of  three  men.  About  the  same  time  a  sui-voyor 
found  coal  on  the  Northern  Pacific  Eailroad  land,  half  a  mile 


GEOLOGY   AND   MINERALOGY   IN   WASHINGTON.         387 

distant,  which  led  to  a  thorough  examination  of  the  country  for 
twentj'-five  square  miles,  and  to  the  working  of  the  mines  at 
Wilkeson  and  Caroonado.  Quite  recently  the  coal-beds  in  the 
Skagit  Valley  have  been  opened  and  to  a  considerable  extent 
developed.  One  vein  in  what  is  known  as  the  Cumberland  Dis- 
trict is  thirty  feet  in  thickness,  and  another  fourteen.  The 
quality  of  the  coal  is  said  to  be  excellent,  and  the  field  very 
extensive.  Its  analysis  gives  fixed  carbon  65.70,  volatile  matter' 
30.30,  ash  .038,  sulphur  .005.  Its  freedom  from  sulphur  and 
low  percentage  of  ash  ai-e  remarkable,  promising  a  coking  coal 
of  great  density  and  purity.  A  third  vein  five  and  a  half  feet 
through  at  the  surface  and  gaining  thickness  with  depth  is  also 
being  opened.  This  mine  belongs  to  the  Skagit  Coal  and  Trans- 
portation Compan\-,  or  Nelson  Bennett  and  associates,  who  own 
about  three  thousand  acres  of  coal-lands  near  Sedro,  twenty-nine 
miles  east  of  Fairhaven,  with  which  it  is  connected  by  railroad. 
The  comparative  values  of  the  Seattle  and  Tacoma,  or  Green 
River  and  Puyallup  coals,  is  given  in  the  following  table : 


J 

g 

Seam. 

1 
1 

It 

ja 

w 

f^ 

d 

Hi 

Coke. 

^ 

K 

i^ 

^ 

> 

Lignites. 

Newcastle 

4.16 

7.27 

44.84 
36.02 

43.86 
28.48 

7.14 
28.23 

0.98 
0.79 

None. 
It 

Green  River,  Seam  (?) 

33 

9.98 

40.63 

41.07 

8.32 

1.01 

ft 

^?) 

8.68 

35.90 

47.07 

8.35 

1.31 

(1 

Bituminous  Lignites. 

Green  River,  Seam  18 

2.50 

45.71 

48.37 

3.42 

1.06 

Poor. 

9 

4.82 

42.02 

37.12 

16.04 

0.88 

None. 

6 

8.34 

39.89 

41.49 

15.78 

1.05 

"          "           "        8 

3.24 

39.52 

48.39 

9.85 

1.22 

Worthless. 

BmJMiNous  Coals. 

Wilkinson  Field,  WIngate  Seam   . 

1.80 

42.27 

52.11 

8.82 

1.23 

Very  good. 

"       Seam  123  .... 

3.98 

28.64 

54.10 

13.28 

1.88 

None.  (?)  (b) 

18  ...  . 

1.33 

25.88 

60.67 

12.12 

2.34 

Excellent. 

j  .  .   .  . 

1.16 

29.09 

60.38 

9.37 

2.07 

II 

1      .   .  . 

1.64 

28.17 

69.70 

10.59 

2.12 

Poor.  (?)  (b) 

58      ... 

0.61 

29.58 

56.18 

13.63 

1.89 

Black  and  IWable. 

Extensive  deposits  are  known  to  exist  in  the  Chehalis  Valley, 
and,  although  geologists  assign  this  to  the  tertiary  period,  I  see 
no  reason  why  these  coals  should  not  be  as  valuable  as  those  on 
the  coast,  at  Coos  Bay  or  Belli ngham.    The  ^ost  of  mining  the 


k  * 


388 


ATLAJTTIS  ARISEN. 


coals  of  Western  Washington  is  light,  averaging  one  dollar  and 
ten  cents  per  ton. 

The  only  coal-miiio  on  the  east  slope  of  the  Cascades  is  at 
Eoslyn,  on  the  line  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  to  which 
company  it  belongs.  This  mine  furnishes  the  locomotives  of  the 
road  with  steam  fuel,  and  this  coal  is  shipped  to  Montana,  Dakota, 
and  Minnesota  to  grade  up  the  inferior  coals  mined  in  those 
States,  while  the  Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  Company  and 
Oregon  Short  Line  are  glad  to  use  any  surplus  which  may  be 
had.  A  vein  of  anthracite  is  reported  discovered  on  the  We- 
natchee  River,  northeast  of  Roslyn.  The  output  of  the  various 
mines  for  two  years  is  thus  tabulated  in  the  report  of  the 
governor  of  Washington  for  1889. 

Comparative  Statement  or  Coal  mined  in  First  and  Second 
Districts  for  Tears  ending  September  30,  1888  and  1889. 


Name. 


Firgt  IHitria. 

Bucoda 

South  Prairie 

Wilkeson 

Carbon  Hill 

Tacoma  Goal  and  Coke  Company 


Total 


SeeondDUMeL 


Franklin  .  .  . 
Black  Diamond 
Cedar  Mountain 
Gilman  .... 
Roslyn  .... 
Newcastle  .  .  . 
Durham     .    .    . 


Total 


Output  Ant  district  .   . 
Output  second  district 


Total  output 1,188,801 


1888. 


Tons. 
49,160 
86,149 
2,800 
208,702 
14,871 


305,682 


182,921 
186,522 
52,813 
13,528 
234,201 
168,184 


828,119 


805,682 
828,119 


1889. 


Tons. 

26,600 

45,107 

6,738 
195,887 

8,081 


281,918 


186,844 
105,255 
23,120 
41,482 
280,648 
76,122 
22,819 


685,690 


281,918 
685,690 


917,608 


GEOLOGY   AND   MINERALOGY   IN   WASHINGTON.        389 


The  decrease  in  shipments  in  1889  is  accounted  for  by  com- 
petition with  British  Columbia  mines,  and  the  decline  of  prices 
in  the  California  markets.  That  this  "was  not  the  true  cause 
seems  evident  when  it  is  known  that  during  the  autumn  and 
winter  of  1889-90  there  was  almost  a  coal  famine  In  Sun  Fran- 
cisco, and  that  prices  ruled  high.  It  looks  more  like  a  combi- 
nation among  coal-miners  to  force  prices  up.  The  market  in 
San  Francisco  ' '.  variable,  owing  to  the  fact  that  English  vessels 
coming  out  in  ballast  to  load  with  wheat  and  salmon  carry  coal 
instead  of  rock  in  the  hold,  and  sell  to  dealei's  for  a  moderate 
price  coal  of  a  good  quality.  This  is  a  kind  of  competition 
which  cannot  always  be  foreseen  or  jjrovided  for. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  great  Southern  Pacific  sys- 
tem of  railroads  is  compelled  to  depend  upon  Washington  for 
steam-making  fuel.  That  corporation  owns  the  Carbon  H'ill 
mines  in  the  Wilkeson  district,  four  in  number,  which  furnish 
about  eight  hundred  tons  daily.  A  raih'oad  has  been  constructed 
through  the  eafSon  of  Carbon  River,  with  a  descending  grade, 
which  carries  the  product  of  the  mines  to  the  bunkers  at 
Tacoma,  where  it  is  loaded  on  a  steamer  carrying  four  thousand 
tons  which  makes  thirty-five  trips  a  year.  Sailing-vessels  carry 
the  remainder  of  the  output.' 

When  this  coal  was  used  in  its  natural  state  it  carried  with  it 
so  mucii  dirt  and  grit  that  the  lives  of  the  engineers  on  the 
Southern  Pacific  were  rendered  burdensome  by  the  effort  to 
keep  up  steam.  A  remedy  was  found  in  washing  the  coal, 
which  is  now  being  shipped  perfectly  clean,  the  saving  in  trans- 
portation more  than  paying  the  expense  of  washing,  while  the 
danger  from  sparks  is  very  much  lessened. 

The  other  Wilkeson  mines  being  worked  belong  to  the  Ta- 
coma Coal  and  Coke  Company,  of  which  A.  C.  Smith  is  presi- 
dent ;  and  the  Wilkeson  Coal  and  Coke  Company,  Hugh  White, 
president.  The  Bucoda  mines  are  on  the  head-waters  of  the 
Chehalis  River,  in  Thurston  County.  They  once  formed  the 
main  supply  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  and  belong  now 
to  the  Northwestern  Coal  ana  Transportation  Company,  of 
which  Samuel  Coulter  is  president.  The  superintendent  says  of 
them  that  the  seam  being  worked  is  seven  feet  in  thickness, 
with  dark-blue  sandstone  roof,  with  the  same  rock  one  hundred 


390 


ATLANTIS   A11I8EN. 


feet  thick  for  a  floor.  Beneath  this  is  another  vein  ten  feet 
thick,  resting  on  a  floor  of  fire-clay  six  feet  thick  and  of  good 
quality.  Under  the  fiiHi-clay  is  a  light-colored  sandstone  one 
hundred  and  sixty  feet  in  thickness,  overlying  an  eighteen- 
feet  seam  of  very  good  coal.  The  Bucoda  coal  is  a  black 
lignite,  preferred  for  domestic  purj)oses.  The  throe  seams  all 
pitch  five  degrees  to  the  east,  which  makes  it  convenient  to 
work. 

The  North  western  Coal  and  Transportation  Company  shipped 
forty-two  thousand  six  hundred  and  seventy-five  tons  during 
the  year  ending  December  1,  1881),  which  is  a  third  more  than 
mentioned  in  the  report  of  the  governor  quoted  above.  The 
coal-mines  of  West  Washington  employ  over  two  thousand 
miners  and  other  laborers,  and  no  miners  receive  less  than  three 
dollars  a  day.  This,  too,  is  but  the  beginning  of  a  ver}-- great 
industry,  and  the  time  will  soon  arrive  when  Washington  will 
rival  Pennsylvania  in  coal  and  iron  production. 

Iron  follows  naturally  after  coal,  one  being  necessary  to  the 
other  in  manufactures.  This  northwest  corner  of  the  United 
States  is  fortimate  in  possessing  them  in  conjunction.  The  iron- 
ores  of  Washington  comprise  bog-iron  orlimonite,  hematite,  and 
magnetic  ore.  Bog-oro  is  found  underlying  the  flats  bordering 
Puget  Sound.  Large  beds  of  magnetic  ore  occur  in  the  Cas- 
cade Mountains,  at  a  height  above  the  water-courses  of  from 
twelve  hundred  to  fifteen  hundred  feet.  The  largest  discovered 
deposit  is  on  the  Cle-elum  River,  in  Kittitas  Count}-  on  the  east 
side  of  the  range,  and  about  twenty-five  miles  north  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  Eailroad.  It  is  owned  by  the  Moss  Bay  Com- 
pany, an  English  corporation  which  designs  manufacturing 
iron  and  steel  on  a  large  scale.  Extensive  deposits  are  also 
found  on  the  Snoqualmie  River  which  are  reached  fi'ora  Seattle 
by  the  Seattle,  Lake  Shore  and  Eastern  Railway.  The  ores 
from  this  section  are  what  are  termed  typical  steel  ores,  of  a 
superior  quality-.  Analysis  gives  a  greater  per  cent,  of  metallic 
iron  than  the  average  of  Lake  Superior  or  Iron  Mountain, 
Missouri,  ores,  with  more  sulphur  and  less  phosphorus  than 
those,  and  with  very  little  more  silica  than  the  former,  and 
much  less  than  the  latter.    The  present  ditficulty  in  working  the 


Pfl 


GEOLOGY  AND   MINERALOGY   IN   WASHINGTON.        391 

Snoqualiuie  ore  is  the  gangue-rock,  and  oxperiinents  are  being 
made  at  eastern  iron- works  with  good  results. 

In  the  Skagit  Valley,  near  Cedro,  is  Iron  Mountain,  separated 
from  Connor  Mountain,  in  which  are  found  coal  deposits,'only 
by  a  deep  gorge.  In  this  mountain  arc  ten  distinct  veins  vary- 
ing in  thickness  from  twelve  to  seventy-five  feet,  and  in  a  favor- 
able position  for  tunnelling.  The  ore  occurs  in  precrctaceous 
crystalline  rocks,  in  which  limestone  also  occurs,  and  proof  of  its 
true  bearing  and  great  magnitude  is  found  in  the  drift  and  an- 
cient volcanic  rock  associated  with  it.  The  iron  is  of  a  rich 
black  color,  of  strong  polarity  and  even  fracture,  surpassing  in 
purity  and  merit  the  Lake  Superior  ores  occurring  in  the  samo 
geological  formation.  Some  of  the  ledges  contain  a  high  per- 
centage of  manganese,  which  it  is  believed  with  [)roper  treat- 
ment will  make  it  valuable  for  the  manufacture  of  steel.  A 
practical  working  test  of  the  oi-e  in  the  Irondale  smelting  works 
resulted  in  obtaining  sixty  per  cent,  of  pure  iron. 

The  only  iron-mine  in  Washington  actually  developed  is  in 
Chimacum  Valley,  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the  Irondale  furnace 
on  Port  Townsend  Bay.  The  ore  in  this  case  lies  in  a  blanket 
from  ten  to  twenty  inches  in  thickness  immediately  under  the 
sod  of  the  valley,  is  porous,  but  sufficiently  solid  to  be  dug  in 
lumps.     The  analysis  gives : 

Metallic  iron 41.83    percent. 

Phof^phorus •   •    •  .  •    •■  •      ^"^^^        " 

Phosphorus  in  100  pai-ts  iron    .    .       .    .*.    .'       1.795        '» 

In  1880  the  Puget  Sound  Iron  Company,  Cyi-us  Walker,  presi- 
dent, erected  a  furnace  for  smelting  iron  near  Poi't  Townsend, 
calling  the  place  Irondale,  and  commenced  work  in  January, 
1881,  the  first  iron  made  in  Washington  being  turned  out  on 
the  23d  of  that  month.  The  ore  used  was  obtained  from  tlie 
dairy  farm  of  William  Bishop,  at  Chimacum,  and  from  Texeda 
Island  in  the  Fuca  Sea.  There  is  ore  enough  in  the  Chimacum 
Mine  to  keep  a  fortj'-ton  furnace  running  for  twenty  years,  but 
it  I'equires  mixing  with  another  quality  of  ore.  The  Texeda 
Mine  is  a  fissure  vein,  eighty  feet  wide,  bearing  sixty-two  per 
cent,  of  metal  of  excellent  quality  and  inexhaustible  in  quantity, 
although  the  ore  requires  to  be  desulphurized  by  roasting.     It 


392 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


coBts  about  two  dollars  a  ton  deliveied  at  the  furnace.  The 
Chimueum  iron  is  soft,  while  the  Texetia  is  hard,  and  by  mixing 
the  proper  density  is  obtained.  The  charcoal  used  in'smelting 
is  made  from  the  timber  at  hand,  and  the  lime  comes  from  San 
Juan  and  Orcas  Islands  at  a  dollar  and  a  half  a  ton,  the  cheap- 
ness of  all  these  materials  adding  greatly  to  the  success  of  the 
manufacture.  The  pig-iron  pi'oduced  here  is  equal  to  the  best  in 
the  United  States. 

The  Union  Iron  Works  of  San  Francisco  have  their  smelting 
works  at  Irondale,  and  it  was  here  that  the  material  was  manu- 
factured from  which  the  United  States  cruiser  "  Charleston"  was 
constructed.  Thus  Washington  furnishes  both  coal  ar  on  to 
the  Golden  State. 

Magneiic  iron-ore  is  found  on  San  Juan  Island,  but  it  contains 
so  large  a  percentage  of  phosphorus  as  to  be  of  little  worth. 
There  are  also  large  beds  of  magnetic  and  red  hematite  ores  of 
a  high  grade  about  twenty  miles  northeast  of  Vancouver,  Clarke 
County. 


m: 


In  connection  with  iron,  limestone  may  be  named  as  of  im- 
portance. The  deposits  which  have  been  worked  are  found  on 
Sun  Juan  Island  and  in  other  parts  of  the  archipelago,  where 
the  supply  is  practicall}'  unlimited.  It  was  first  made  in  1860 
by  Augustus  Hibbard  and  his  partner  N.  C.  Bailey,  by  whom  he 
■was  killed  in  a  quarrel  eight  yeai-s  afterwards.  The  works  were 
then  closed  until  1871,  when  Hibbard's  heir  appeared  and  claimed 
them,  but  died  in  1873.  In  the  mean  time  Bailey  returned  and 
took  possession  of  his  interest,  but  he  also  died,  and  James  Mc- 
Curdy,  who  hold  a  mortgage  on  the  property,  came  into  pos- 
session. The  capacity  of  the  kilns  previous  to  1879  was  twenty- 
six  thousand  four  hundred  barrels  per  annum.  In  1879  new 
works  were  opened  in  two  places  on  the  island  by  other  parties. 
The  lime-works  on  Orcas  Island,  opened  in  1862,  turned  out 
forty  barrels  per  diem.  For  many  yeai's  these  quarries  supplied 
the  Pacific  Northwest  with  lime  for  building  and  other  purposes. 
But  it  is  now  known  that  limestone  and  marble  are  to  be  found 
in  the  Skagit  Valley  and  in  different  parts  of  the  Cascade  Range 
in  quantities  sufficient  not  only  for  smelting  the  metals  existing 
in  these  localities,  but  for  commercial  purposes.     In  1878  the 


GEOLOGY    AND   MINERALOGY   IN    WASHINGTON.        393 


Northern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  opened  a  quari*y  in  the 
Puyullup  Valley,  their  works  having  a  capacity  of  two  hundred 
and  seventy -five  barrels.  The  production  of  lime  in  Washing- 
ton in  1880  was  sixty-five  thousand  barrels,  worth  eighty-four 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  Limestone  is  also  abundant  in 
the  region  of  Fort  Colville. 

Copper  is  found  in  connection  with  gold  and  silver  on  both 
sides  of  the  Cascade  Mountains  and  in  the  mineral  rosrions  of 
Northeastern  Washington.  Recent  discoveries  have  been  re- 
ported as  having  been  made  in  the  Cascades  of  high-grade  cop- 
per-ore, and  late  exploration  in  the  Olympic  Mountains  reveal 
the  existence  of  copper  in  this  range.  Valuable  copper  ledges 
ai'e  said  to  exist  eight  mil^s  from  Hood's  Canal  in  Kitsap 
County.  The  Humptulips  River,  which  flows  into  Gray's  Har- 
bor, is  said  also  to  lead  to  a  copper  belt  of  great  proportions, 
the  deposit  being  found  in  a  formation  of  slate  and  limestone 
quite  accessible  by  railroad  from  the  Chehalis  Valley.  For  the 
l)re8ent  a  movement  is  on  foot  to  cut  a  trail  from  the  head  of 
navigation  on  the  Wishkah  River  to  the  vicinity  of  the  indicated 
mines. 

Among  the  specimens  of  minerals  to  be  seen  in  the  Skagit 
Valley  is  a  fine  quality  of  asbestos  from  a  mine  ojiened  at  an 
altitude  of  two  thousand  feet.  The  same  mineral  has  been 
found  at  Ellensburg,  produced  in  the  Sebastian  mining  district, 
thirty-eight  miles  north  of  that  place.  It  is  long-fibred  and  of 
superior  quality,  but  has  never  been  mined. 

In  the  Yakima  Valley,  lower  down,  is  a  mountain  of  pumice 
of  a  fine  grain,  which,  as  this  volcanic  product  has  also  a  com- 
mercial value,  is  of  importance  to  the  countrj-. 

Clays  of  several  qualities,  from  that  used  in  bnck-making  to 
ti'ipoli  and  kaolin,  are  abundant  in  West  Washington,  although 
not  of  equally  good  quality.  While  there  exist  deposits  of 
pottery-clay  so  uniform  in  texture  as  to  be  immediately  con- 
vertible into  dry-pressed  bricks,  or  with  a  small  hand  press 
moulded  into  tiles,  which  on  being  burned  become  vitrified  and  of 
a  deep  red,  the  greater  number  require  thorough  tror,tmont  by 
the  best  proces.ses  known  to  ceramics  in  oi'do''  to  produce  a 
ware  equal  to  that  manufactured  in  the  East.  There  are  good 
brick-making  and  tire  clays  at  no  great  distance  from  Tacoma, 


L 


394 


ATLANTIS  ABI8EN. 


m^. 


I 


and  also  at  Gray's  Harbor,  and  porcelain  clays  in  the  Cowlitz 
Valley,  never  j-et  thoroughly  tested,  but  abundant. 

The  lesson  taught  by  the  great  fire  of  Chicago  was  that  iron 
expands,  cracks,  twists,  and  gives  way  under  heat  and  pressure ; 
that  granite  will  split  and  crumble  if  subjected  to  a  great  d>^gree 
of  heat  ana  weight ;  that  limestone  will  be  burned  into  q  lick- 
lime  and  slacked  by  water,  or  will  blow  out  in  masses,  destroy- 
ing a  building ;  and  that  sandstone  will  become  flaky  and  split 
off  under  the  action  of  n  general  conflagration ;  but  that  brick 
made  of  a  high-grade  refractory  clay,  properly  manufacturiid, 
will  withstand  the  fiercest  heat.  Hence  the  value  of  building- 
brick  produced  from  the  refractory  clays.,  which,  mixed  with 
thobe  of  a  lower  grade  and  burned  until  vitrified,  caa  be  made 
to  witLisLand  a  beat  that  will  melt  and  boil  glass  or  steel. 

The  Puget  Sound  fire-clays  vary  in  appearance,  some  of  the 
best  resembling  slate  and  being  of  a  blue-black  color.  When 
these  are  broken  up  and  exposed  to  the  rains  of  winter,  they 
are  resolved  into  a  pasty  mud,  which  on  treatment  becomes  re- 
fractory. Other  of  the  fire-clays  are  a  bluish-gray  in  color,  and 
look  like  stone  when  dry,  but  dissolve  into  pasto  when  wet ;  and 
still  others  contain  an  excess  of  silica,  and  resemble  iaminv  3d 
sandstone ;  while  some  are  soft  and  oily  to  the  touch,  acd  of 
different  degrees  of  color,  from  very  light  to  very  dark.  As  a 
foundation  for  future  industries  in  Wa^'hington,  this  class  of 
mineral  substances  is  likely  to  prove  of  importance  to  the  new 
State.  An  industry  kindred  to  that  of  brick  or  j)ottery  was 
carried  on  in  1868  by  the  firm  of  Knapp  &  Burrell,  of  Port- 
land, on  the  north  bank  of  the  Columbia,  at  Knappton, — namely, 
the  manufacture  of  cement  froin  nodules  of  a  yellowish  lime- 
stone, found  near  the  mouth  of  tiie  river.  The  yield  was  thirty- 
five  barrels  daily. 


in~ 


The  precious  metals  are  not  yet  at  all  developed  in  West 
Washington,  although  gold  has  been  found  in  some  of  the 
streams,  and  alleged  discoveries  have  been  made  in  the  Cascade 
and  Olympic  Ranges  of  quartz  veius  iiearing  gold  and  silver, 
both  ffparately  and  in  conjunction. 

Gold-mining  in  East  Washington  was  begun  in  the  spring  of 
1855,  when  gold  in  placers  was  discovered  near  Fort  Colville, 


GEOLOGY   AND  MINERALOGY   IN   WASHINGTON. 


395 


I 


being  followed  by  the  usual  migration  of  thousands  to  that 
locality,  and  the  subsequent  discovery  of  other  placer  diggings 
in  the  upper  Columbia  region,  followed  by  the  organization  of 
the  TexTitory  of  Idaho,  which  took  away  from  Washington 
some  of  its  most  valuable  mining-lands.  The  yield  of  the 
placer  mines  in  the  Colville  and  Okanogan  districts  was  very 
considerable,  but  could  not  be  aecuratelv  stated  on  account  of 
the  many  routes  by  which  gold  was  carried  out  of  the  oountry, 
and  also  because  the  express  companies,  who  were  the  common 
carriers  of  treasure,  ha<l  no  means  of  knowing  from  what  dis- 
tricts came  the  gold  intrusted  to  their  keeping.  It  is  interest- 
ing merely  as  an  indication  of  the  value  of  the  placers  of 
Washington,  Oregon,  and  tb«  northwestern  portion  of  Idaho  in 
a  half-dozen  years,  covering  the  period  of  profitable  placer 
milling  in  the  Northwest,  to  take  such  figures  as  Wells,  Fargo 
&  Co.  were  able  to  furnish,  as  follows:  Shipped  from  Portland 
in  1864,  86,200,000;  1865,  e5,800,000;  1866,  $5,400,000;  1867, 
$4,000,000;  1868,  «3,037,000  ;  18G9,  $2,559,000;  1870,  $1,547,000. 
Add  to  these  sums  $419,657,  shipped  by  Portland  bankers  in 
1869,  and  we  have  $28,953,657  that  can  be  accounted  for.  This 
partial  statement  does  not  include  the  fii'st  and  best  product  of 
the  Colville  mines,  or  the  output  of  the  years  1862  and  1863, 
when  the  yields  of  the  Oro  Fino,  Florence,  and  Salmon  Eiver 
nunes  (then  in  Washington)  were  at  the  best. 

Very  little  of  the  gold  o"^  Boise,  Owyhee,  or  any  part  of 
Sou'ihern  Idaho  went  to  San  Francisco  via  Portland;  therefore 
the  millions  of  which  any  tccount  was  taken  were  produced  in 
East  Oregon,  Washington,  and  the  Panhandle  of  Idaho,  which 
Washington  always  claimed  as  belonging  to  her  territory. 

Quartz  voins  were  discovered  to  some  extent  during  the 
placer-mining  excitement,  but  woi'o  disregarded.  Ledges  were 
known  to  exist  in  the  Okanogan  District,  and  diHooveries  were 
made  on  the  eastern  flank  of  the  Cascades,  on  the  Wenatchee 
Eiver.  The  development  of  quartz  is,  however,  recent,  for  ob- 
vious reasons,  capital  and  ti'ansportation  being  necessary  to 
quartz-mining  enterprises. 

The  counties  in  East  Washington  where  gold-  and  silver- 
mining  are  carried  on  are  Kittitass,  Okanogan,  Douglas,  and 
Stevens.     The  yield  from  the  deep  mines  of  Kittitass  for  the 


I 


ill 


mt 


I 


396 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


year  1880  was  twenty-two  thousand  and  thirty-six  dollars,  and 
from  placers  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  and  nineteen 
dollars,  and  it  had  not  increased  in  1883.  Theie  mines  are,  in 
fact,  undeveloped,  the  iron  and  coal  of  the  Cascades  being 
sought  after  rather  than  the  precious  metals.  Silver-,  lead-,  and 
copper-ores  exist,  but  it  is  not  known  what  tonnage  they  will 
yield.  The  Wenatchee,  Yakima,  Lake  Chelan,  and  Methow 
Eiver  Districts,  all  lying  just  east  of  the  Cascades,  are  promising, 
but  imperfectly  known.  Silver  is  believed  to  exist  in  the 
Olympic  Eange,  singly  and  in  connection  with  copper.  This 
is,  however,  more  presumptive  than  real  knowledge,  founded  on 
croppings  of  an  apparently  good  character  gathered  up  in  recent 
explorations. 

It  is  in  the  country  lying  immediately  west  of  the  Okinakane 
Eiver  and  Colville  Indian  Eeservation,  in  Okanogan  County,  and 
in  that  part  of  Stevens  County  lying  east  of  the  Indian  Eeser-. 
vation  and  the  Columbia  Eiver,  that  quartz-mining  is  being 
carried  on  with  energy. 

Euby  District,  in  Okanogan  County,  is  situated  on  Concon- 
nully  Creek  (called  Salmon  Eiver  on  many  maps),  fifteen  miles 
west  of  Okinakane  Eiver.  This  creek  rises  in  a  high  and  rugged 
range,  running  southeast  through  deep  cafions  to  its  junction 
with  the  Okinakane.  In  the  spring  it  is  a  strong  and  turbulent 
strei^m,  but  diminishes  with  the  dry  season  until  it  discharges 
but  about  twelve  cubic  feet  per  second. 

This  district  is  approached  from  the  cast  by  a  stage-road 
either  from  Spckane  Falls  or  Sprague,  on  the  Northern  Pacific, 
the  two  uniting  seventy  miles  west  of  Spokane,  and  continuing 
west  to  the  head  of  the  Grand  Coulee  and  Condon  Ferry  on  the 
Columbia,  thence  to  the  Okinakane  Eiver,  which  it  crosses,  and 
to  Euby  City,  the  whole  distance  from  Spokane  Falls  being  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles.  The  western  approach  is  via  Ellens- 
burg,  either  across  the  country,  one  hundred  and  ninety-five 
miles,  or  by  steamboat  a  part  of  the  distance.  A  railroad  will 
soon  cross  the  country  from  Spokane  Falls  to  Puget  Sound, 
affording  better  facilities  for  travel  to  these  mines. 

Euby  City  is  situated  on  Conconnully  Creek,  at.  an  altitude 
of  eighteen  hundred  feet,  but  surrounded  by  mountains  rising 


t 


GEOLOGY  AND   MINERALOGY   IN  WASHINGTON. 


397 


four  thousand  and  six  thousapd  foot  above  sea-level.  It  is  the 
county-beat  of  Okanogan  County,  and  the  centi*e  of  the  mining 
district. 

The  principal  mines  are  on  the  outh  side  of  the  creek,  in  a 
ridge  rising  abruptly  from  it  to  a  height  of  two  thousand  five 
hundred  feet.  There  is  plenty  of  timber,  but  no  water  for 
mining  purposes,  and  the  ores  must  be  conveyed  over  a  very 
rough  trail,  or  by  a  wire  tramway  to  reduction  works  on  the 
ConconnuUy,  a  method  which  is  entirely  practicable. 

The  country  rock  of  Euby  district  is  granite,  gneiss,  mica, 
and  hornblende  schists,  which  have  been  uplifted  to  nearly  ver- 
tical positions.  The  width  of  the  zone  of  gneissoid  granites  and 
schists  is  about  three  miles,  flanked  on  the  southwest  by  a  high 
granite  range,  and  the  mineral  l>elt  is  confined  to  this  zone — the 
silver-bearing  lodes  conformin  j,  .substantially  to  the  generally 
southeast-and-northwest  'onr^i'  of  the  scbistose  rocks,  with  a 
dip  varying  from  fifty  "es  to  the  nearly  vertical  position, 

with  frequent  local  variations. 

One  of  the  latter  is  the  Arlingt^  ,  which  has  a  nurth-and- 
south  direction,  and  is  situated  in  thi  southerly  end  of  Ruby 
Mountain,  about  three  hundred  feet  from  the  tup,  with  a  dip 
into  the  mountain  of  from  sixty  to  eighty  degrees  h  ow  the 
horizontal.  The  lode  is  from  three  to  nine  feet  wide,  and  has 
been  traced  for  a  distance  of  seven  hundr<  feet.  The  ore 
assays  one  hundred  and  eighty-seven  dollars  in  silver  to  the 
ton,  t)r,  taking  all  classes  of  ore  together,  eighty-six  'ollars  and 
sixty-four  cents,  with  merelj^  a  trace  of  gold.  Pro''  sor  Clayton, 
in  a  report  on  the  Euby  district,  to  which  I  uiu  indebted  for 
figures,  estimated  that  a  block  of  ground  three  hundred  feet 
long,  sixty  feet  deep,  and  five  in  width,  making  ninety  thousand 
cubic  feet  of  quartz  in  the  lode,  would  give  about  six  thousand 
tons  gross,  and,  assuming  that  half  of  that  would  assay  eighty 
dollars  per  ton,  the  gross  value  would  be  t  'o  }  undred  and  forty 
thousand   dollars.      Deducting   ten   per  loss   in   milling 

(twenty -four  thousand  dollars)  and  twen  a  per  ton  for 

the  cost  of  milling,  mining,  and  transportation  ^  ty  thousand 
dollars),  there  would  remain  one  hundred  and  fiUy  thousand 
dollars  net  from  this  block  of  ground,  which  he  considered  a 
safe  estimate.     What  the  actual  yield  is  has  not  been  made 


898 


ATLA^TI8   ARISEN. 


|.:il 


known,  but  it  is  the  leading  mine  in  the  di8trict,  and  reduction 
works  have  been  erected,  at  a  cost  of  three  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  at  Ruby  City,  for  the  extraction  of  silver  from  this  and 
other  ores  in  this  locality,  with  other  improvements  involving  a 
large  amount  of  capital,  A  conceiitrator  has  also  been  erected 
at  Conconnully,  but  these  helps  have  only  partially  relieved  the 
embarrassments  of  the  miners.  The  cost  of  transporting  ore 
to  Ellensburg,  the  nearest  railroad  point  by  steamboat  and 
wagon-road,  is  two  and  a  half  cents  per  pound,  a  prohibitory 
price  for  the  carrying  of  any  but  the  highest  grade, of  ores. 
Nothing  like  a  general  development  can  take  place  until  the 
excessive  cost  of  transportation  is  removed. 

The  other  mines  in  the  Okanogan  country  of  the  same  gen- 
eral character  of  the  Arlington  are  the  Fourth  of  Julj^  Ruby, 
and  First  Thought,  in  the  Ruby  di.strict.  The  Tuff  Nut,  Mam- 
moth, Lone  Star,  Home  Stako,  and  Minnehaha,  in  Salmon  River 
(Conconnully)  district,  are  not  so  purely  silver-bearing,  and 
several  in  tho  Galena  district  carry  enough  lead  for  smelting. 

The  greatest  advancement  yet  made  in  mining  in  Washington 
has  been  in  Stevens  County.  About  fifty  miles  by  rail  north  of 
Spokane  Falls,  in  the  vicinity  of  Chewelah,  is  a  mining  district 
producing  silver  and  lead  ore  which  is  reducible  by  smelting. 
The  general  character  of  the  country  is  lime,  the  walls  encasing 
the  minerals  being  porphyry.  These  mines  wore  discovered  in 
1883-84,  but  were  not  worked  until  about  1887.  The  Eagle 
Mine  ore  assayed  three  hundred  dollars  in  silver  and  lorty  per 
cent,  in  lead.  This  property,  situated  about  three  miles  east  of 
Chewelah,  is  owned  by  capitalists  who  are  able  to  defvolop  it. 
In  the  vicinity  are  numerous  .nincral  locations.  The  Shamrock 
is  a  vein  forty-one  feet  wide,  ap«aying  twenty-four  dollars  in 
silver  and  thirty-five  cents  in  7<'.(l,  and  the  Pansy  is  an  exten- 
sion of  the  same  formation,  whi'  h  is  in  porphyry.  The  Alpcnd, 
one  mile  east  of  the  Eagle,  is  a  good  property,  and  many  others 
promise  well. 

On  the  west  side  of  the  valley,  seven  miles  from  Chewelah, 
is  the  Finley,  a  vein  of  gray  copper  and  chlorides,  assaying 
from  thirty  dollars  to  six  hundred  dollar'-  per  ton,  and  there 
are  several  well-defined  veins  of  the  same  quality  of  ore  in  the 
vicinity. 


GEOLOGY   AND  MINERALOGY   IN   WASHINGTON. 


399 


The  mineral  region  extends  eighty  miles  north,  but  it  is  in 
the  region  of  Colviile  that  the  greatest  development  has  taken 
place  in  mining.     This  country'  abounds  in  lime-belts,   which 
pass  through  it  from  northwest  to  southeast  at  intervals  of  from 
five  to  eight  miles  apart,  ^rarying  in  width  from  one  thousand 
j'.irds  to  three  miles.     The  deposits  of  ore  are  extensive,  many 
of  them   bearing  the   minerals   necessary  to  their  reduction. 
Granite   and   porphyry  enclose   some  of   the  veins,  slate  and 
quartz  others,  and  still  others  are  found  in  limestone.     Some  of 
the  ores  are  iron  carbonates,  carrying  silver,  gold,  and  load  in 
paying  quantities.     The  Old  Dominion  Mines,  however,  contain 
ore  in  the  form  of  a  chloride  and  black  sulphate  in  limestone  walls. 
The  Old  Dominion  Mine  is  six  miles  east  of  the  town  of  Col- 
viile, and  is  an  eiiiht-foot  fissure  vein,  assaying  one  hundred 
and  fifty  ounces  of  silver,  twenty-five  per  cent,  galena,  and 
seven  dollars  in  gold  to  the  ton.     The  Old  Dominion  was  dis- 
covered in  3885.  and  produced  in  1886  eighty  thousand  dollars' 
worth  of  silver.     Two  years  later  it  was  estimated  that  half  a 
million   had  been  taken  out,  and  ore 'had  been  found  which 
assayed   fifteen    thousand   dollars   to  the  ton.     On   the   same 
mountain,  and  forming  a  group  o**  chlorides,  are  the  Ella,  Rust- 
ler, Paris  Belle,  East  Side,  West  Side,  War  Eagle,  St.  Helena, 
John   Harris,  and  Por  land.     Until  a  recent  period  the  ores 
were  shipped  to  Omaha  for  reduction,  and  only  the  highest 
grade  ores  would  pay  the  expenses  of  mining,  transportation, 
and  reduction ;  hence,  districts  less  rich  than  the  Old  Dominion 
were  left  unworkcd. 

The  Young  America,  owned  by  the  Young  America  Consoli- 
dated Company,  is  situated  on  the  east  side  of  the  Columbia,  in 
a  lime  blutf  sixteen  miles  north  of  Colviile,  and  is  one  of  the 
largest,  if  not  the  largest,  surface-showing  mines  in  she  State. 
It  was  discovered  in  1885,  and  within  six  montlis  had  been  con- 
siderably developed.  The  ledge  averages  five  foet  in  thickness, 
and  runs  northeast  and  southwest,  with  a  pitch  to  the  east.  In 
1888  it  had  been  lunnolled  to  a  point  one  hundred  and  eighty 
feet  from  the  surface,  following  a  heavj  body  of  ore  all  the  vvay, 
and  finding  a  solid  deposit  of  eight  feet  of  mineral.  A  working 
test  made  in  San  Francisco  showed  ninety  ounces  of  silver  and 
forty  per  cent,  of  lead  to  the  t  n.     The  ore  is  now  shipped  by 


I  I 


til 


400 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


M 


m 


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m>.  i  & 


the  Spokane  and  Northern  Railroad  to  Spokane,  and  rofluced  iu 
the  Mutual  Smelting  and  Mining  Company's  works  of  that  city. 
The  mine  is  valued  at  over  a  million  dollat  8. 

The  Bonanza,  two  miles  east  of  the  Young  America,  is  in  a 
formation  similar  to  the  Young  America,  which,  while  the  ore  is 
not  so  valuable,  is  so  much  larger  as  to  make  up  for  it.  It  is 
producing  and  shipping  ore  continuously. 

The  Little  Dalles,  thirty-eight  miles  north  of  Colville,  is 
another  region  rich  in  minerals.  The  ores  are  galer-\  and  lead 
carbonate  with  silver.  It  was  discovered  in  1886,  when  the 
Silver  Crown  and  Northern  Light  claims  attracted  much  atten- 
tion. Thoy  are  true  fissure  veins  located  side  by  side,  running 
east  and  west  parallel  with  each  other,  and  pitching  towards  each 
other.  Practically,  they  are  one  ledge,  as  they  must  meet.  The 
ore  assays  from  eighty  to  three  huiidi'ed  ounces,  and  the  ledges 
are  eighteen  inches  in  thickness. 

The  Silver  Butte  is  an  extension  of  the  Silver  Crown  and 
Northern  Light  properties,  with  almost  as  good  a  showing  of 
mineral;  and  the  Amy,  a  short  distance  below  Silver  Crown, 
shares  in  the  richness  of  the  district. 

Bruce  Creek  is  another  locality  where  some  large  ledges  of 
galena  are  found ;  and  on  Clugston,  five  miles  east  of  Bruce 
Creek  and  twelve  miles  north  of  Colville,  tbei*e  are  some  very 
fine  ledges  of  galena,  including  the  Uncle  Sam  and  Tenderfoot, 
both  of  which  are  rich  in  lead,  while  carrying  silver  enough  to 
defray  expenses  of  transportation  and  reduction.  Iron  also 
abounds  in  the  region  of  Bruce  Creek. 

The  Daisy,  in  the  Summit  district,  twenty-four  miles  south  of 
Colville,  was  discovered  in  1886,  but  not  worked  for  a  year  or 
more.  It  was  found  to  be  a  seven-foot  vein  of  carbonates,  worth 
one  hundred  and  fifty-one  dollars  in  silver  and  a  few  dollars  in 
gold  to  the  ton.  In  1888  there  were  seventy  thousand  dollars' 
worth  of  ore  in  sight. 

A  smelter  of  twenty  tons  capacity  was  erected  at  Colville,  to 
which  all  these  mining  districts  are  tributary,  by  the  Mutual 
Smelting  and  Mining  Company  in  1888,  which  purchased  ore  or 
did  custom  work  for  the  miners,  but  had  not  a  sufficient  capacity 
even  at  that  time.  The  completion  of  railroad  connection  with 
Spokane  Falls  has  solved  many  difficulties. 


GEOLOGY   AND   MINERALOGY  IN   ^V  ASHINGTON. 


401 


The  Metaline  district,  on  Clarke's  Fork  of  the  Columbia,  was 
discovered  late  in  1886.  It  is  situated  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
river  (recently  called  Pond  d'Oreille  River),  about  one  hundred 
miles  from  Pend  d'Orielle  Lake,  and  near  the  northern  boundary 
of  the  State.  It  belongs  to  the  Kootenai  group  of  mines,  which 
extend  into  Idaho,  and  is  approached  by  the  river  from  Sand 
Point  on  the  lake  and  on  the  Northern  Pacific  Eailroad. 

The  ores  of  this  district  are  a  low-grude  galena,  and  lead  the 
principal  production,  the  average  of  that  metal  being  from 
seventy-five  to  eighty -five  per  cent.,  with  no  roft-actory  metal  in 
the  district.  The  ore  is  generally  found  in  pockets  in  a  lime- 
stone formation  similar  to  the  Frisco  silver  district  of  Southern 
Utah.  The  Bell  O'May  Mine  and  Diamond  R.  aie  of  this  de- 
scription. The  latter  assayed  six  ounces  of  silver  and  eighty 
per  cent,  of  lead  on  top,  and  at  a  depth  of  twenty-seven  feet 
assayed  seventy  ounces  of  silver  and  fifty-eight  per  cent,  of 
lead.  ^'  "  Oreole,  owned  in  Spokane,  is  a  vein  mine,  in  lime 
rock  Cv.  ...ning  gray  copper  and  galena,  the  ore  averaging  one 
hundred  ounces  in  silver.  These  mines  are  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river,  f\nd  within  from  one  to  two  and  a  half  miles  of  the 
town  of  Metaline. 

A  mile  below  the  town,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  is  Grand 
View  Mine,  on  a  bluff  eight  hundred  feet  obove  +he  stream. 
This  ore  assayed  ten  ounces  of  silver  and  seventy-five  per  cent, 
of  lead,  and  showed  a  four-hundred  foot  square  of  galena  on  the 
surface.  Near  the  Grand  View  is  the  Friday  Mine,  running 
high  in  lead  and  low  in  silver ;  and  fivo  miles  above,  on  the  same 
side,  is  a  six-foot  vein  containing  a  twelve-inch  streak  of  gray 
coppei'-ore  running  very  high  in  silver. 

Again,  the  Waters  Mine,  discovered  in  1888,  on  Little  Muddy 
Creek,  on  the  west  side  of  Clarke's  Fork,  is  a  well-defined  vein 
in  lime,  containing  two  feet  of  galena  assaying  thirty  ounces 
.  silver  and  seventy-five  per  cent,  lead,  and  two  feet  of  galena 
carbonates  carrying  ten  ounces  silver  and  forty-five  per  cent, 
lead. 

Gold  is  found  in  placers  on  Sullivan  Cieek  on  the  east  side  of 
Clarke's  Fork  a  mile  below  Metaline.  The  diggings  are  from 
three  to  six  feet  deep  on  gray  slate  bedrock;  the  ground  is 
spotted,  and  the  gold  is  in  heavy  scalea. 

26 


402 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


ffi'i- 


It  has  been  remarked  by  intelligent  prospectors  that  from  the 
international  boundary-line  Bouth  to  Spokane  Falls  there  is  a 
peculiar  distribution  of  rocks  on  the  surface,  particularly  from 
Calispel  Lake  in  the  Colvillo  country  west  to  Oso-Yoos  Lake  in 
the  Okanogan  country,  between  which  points  there  is  a  stream 
of  granite  boulders  about  a  mile  in  width.  This  stream  is  the 
same,  no  matter  what  the  country  rock  may  be ;  whether  lime, 
slate,  porphyry,  or  granite,  these  boulders  are  present  on  the 
surface,  some  weighing  many  tons,  and  others  smaller,  but  dis- 
tributed in  a  straight  line  on  the  mountains  and  in  the  valleys. 

Some  years  ago  some  prospectors  found  a  large  piece  of  {ga- 
lena ore  on  a  mountain  near  the  town  of  Marcus.  Certain  that 
they  had  made  a  valuable  discovery  they  sold  the  ore,  and 
searched  for  the  vein  from  which  it  had  come  until  satisfied  that 
there  was  none  in  the  vicinity.  The  theory,  of  course,  is  that 
the  granite  and  other  boulders  so  out  of  place  were  dropped 
from  icebergs  that  were  breaking  up  as  they  floated  over  this 
country,  then  covered  with  water.  Where  the  bergs  were  formed 
is  a  query  still  to  be  answered. 


IJ 


J.  t 


The  Kootenai  country  in  the  Pan-Handle  of  Idaho  is  east  of 
the  Metaline  district,  and,  although  belonging  to  another  Com- 
monwealth, is  tributary  to  Washington.  It  has  long  been  known 
to  be  a  mineral  country,  and  was  prospected  for  gold  placers  in 
the  early  mining  furore  following  the  Fraser  Eiver  and  Colville 
excitements  of  thirty  or  thirty -five  years  ago.  The  country  is 
mountainous  and  picturesque,  and  contains  several  of  the  most 
beautiful  lakes  in  the  Northwest, — the  Cceur  d'Alene,  Pend 
d'Oreille,  Kanisku,  and  a  part  of  the  Kootenai.  It  has  five 
hundred  miles  of  navigable  waters,  and  vast  resources  in  timber 
and  minerals. 

The  firet  mining  done  in  the  Kootenai  country  was  in  the 
Cceur  d'Alene  region,  which  is  drained  through  the  Spokane 
Eiver.  The  distance  from  Spokane  Falls  to  the  nearest  point 
Oii  the  lake  is  twenty-five  miles.  The  Cceur  d'Alene  River  has 
two  branches,  on  both  of  which  placer  gold-mining  has  been 
carried  on  for  eight  or  ten  years,  but  most  largely  on  the  South 
Fork.  It  was  not  until  about  1883  that  deep  mining  was  under- 
taken, and  previous  to  1886  not  much  was  accomplished.    It  is 


GEOLCXJY    AND   MINERAUXJY   IN    WASHINGTON. 


403 


now,  however,  a  busy  and  prosperous  mining  region.  The  ores 
are  argentiferous  galena,  with  some  gold  in  quartz.  The  veins 
arc  true  fissures,  accessible,  and  very  thick,  and  carry  from  forty 
to  sixty  per  cent,  of  lead,  five  to  fiftj'  ounces  of  silver,  and  a  few 
dollars  in  gold  to  the  ton.  The  strike  of  the  principal  lode, 
which  is  three  miles  in  length,  is  parallel  to  the  river,  at  a 
distance  from  it  of  from  two  to  six  miles,  and  it  is  frequently 
cut  at  right  angles  by  ravines,  which  afford  facilities  for 
mining. 

There  are  no  fluxes  in  the  Coeur  d'Alene  country  except  that 
contained  in  the  ore,  and  no  great  amount  of  fuel  near  the 
mines,  which  makes  it  more  economical  to  carry  the  ores  out 
for  smelting  than  to  bring  in  the  fluxes, — a  fact  in  favor  of 
Spokane  Falls  as  a  centre  for  redaction  works.  Mills  and  con- 
centrators on  the  ground  reduce  the  expense  of  transporting 
the  ores,  which,  however,  with  the  supplies  required  by  the 
camps,  furnish  a  profitable  business  to  the  Coeur  d'Alene  Eail- 
way  and  Navigation  Company's  lines,  connecting  with  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad. 

The  Bunker  Hill  and  Sullivan  Mines,  at  the  head  of  Milo 
Creek,  were  the  first  discoveries  on  the  lode,  and  have  been  good 
producers.  The  ore  as  taken  from  the  mine  concenti'ates  four 
tons  into  one,  which  has  a  gross  value  of  one  hundred  dollars, 
and  with  the  first  concentrator,  whose  capacity  was  one  hundred 
and  twenty  tons  daily,  returned  three  thousand  dollars  per  day 
to  the  owners.  The  company  employ  one  hundred  and  fifty 
men,  and  are  well  equipped  for  profitable  mining. 

The  Stemwiuder,  just  beyond  these  mines,  on  the  main  lode, 
is  owned  in  Portland,  and  is  a  rich  producer.  The  company 
has  a  concentrator  at  Milo.  The  Tyler,  also  owned  in  Portland, 
is  a  similar  property,  as  well  as  the  Emma — Last  Chance,  owned 
in  Spokane. 

The  Sierra  Nevada  is  a  carbonate  instead  of  galena,  and  yields 
a  large  amount  of  ore,  giving  returns  of  one  hundred  dollars  per 
ton  without  concentrating.  Specimens  from  this  mine  of  crys- 
tallized silver  and  lead,  consequent  on  some  disturbance  of  the 
formation,  are  beautiful  and  wonderful,  fantastic  in  shape  and 
rich  in  color. 

Silver  King,  Crown  Point,  and  Eureka  are  also  good  mines  in 


404 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


I  ii 


the  vicinity  of  Wardner;  and  there  are  verj'  many  equally  as 
good  in  other  districts  of  the  Coeur  d'Alene  couatry. 

The  first  mine  thoroughly  developed  in  this  region  was  the 
Tiger,  owned  in  Spokane,  and  located  on  Canyon  Creek,  a  feeder 
of  the  South  Fork.  In  order  to  secure  this  development  it  was 
necessary  to  construct  a  railroad  for  several  miles  through  a 
narrow  defile  of  the  mountains,  and  erect  a  concentrator  of  one 
hundred  tons  capacity.  There  is  enough  ore  in  sight  to  keep  it 
running  for  years. 

The  Cceur  d'Alene  mines  already  wield  a  great  influence  in 
the  develcpment  of  the  Northwest,  which  is  destined  to  increase 
as  they  are  developed.  They  make  necessary  railroads  and 
reduction  works,  and  encourage  various  industries,  which  with- 
out them  would  remain  unattempted  for  many  a  decade. 


Lightning  Creek  district,  on  the  northeast  side  of  Lake  Pend 
d'Oreille,  and  five  miles  by  a  level  road  north  of  Clarke's  Fork 
Station  on  the  Northern  Pacific,  is  in  the  Kootenai  country,  and 
was  discovered  in  1887.  The  veins  have  an  east-and-west  course 
in  a  hard  black  lime  and  quartzite.  The  Mayflower  is  high- 
grade  galena,  one  foot  in  thickness,  averaging  one  hundred  and 
thirty-six  ounces  silver  and  twenty-five  per  cent.  lead.  The 
Wallace,  of  the  same  size,  gives  one  hundred  and  nine  ounces 
silver  and  forty  per  cent.  load.  Lightning  Creek  is  twenty-eight 
miles  long,  and  falls  into  the  lake.  It  affoi-ds  good  sport  to  the 
trout  fisher. 

West  of  Clarke's  Fork  Station,  and  little  over  a  mile  from 
Hope  Station,  are  the  Silver  Chord  and  Lake  Shore  Mines,  with 
a  six-foot  body  of  ore  assaying  at  the  start  thirty  ounces  silver, 
with  a  good  per  cent,  of  lead.  The  formation  is  quartzite, 
syenite,  and  slate. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  lake,  nearly  opposite  Hope  Station, 
is  the  Garfield  Bay  district,  by  water  eighteen  miles  southeast 
from  Sand  Point,  and  six  miles  northeast  by  rail  from  Cocolalla 
Station  on  the  Northern  Pacific.  Two  miles  back  from  the  bay, 
on  the  bide  of  a  mountain,  is  the  Mountain  Queen.  The  vein  is 
in  trachyte  and  lime,  and  contains  a  hard  whitish  quartz  spotted 
with  galena,  which  assays  thirty  ounces  silver  and  a  small  per- 
centage of  lead.    There  are  twenty  or  more  locations  in  the 


GEOLOGY   AND   MINERALOGY    IX    AVA8HINGTON. 


405 


immediate  vicinity,  and  all  are  owned  in  the  Kootenai  country 
and'  Spokane  Falls,  unless  I'ccently  transferred. 

On  the  south  side  of  Lake  Pend  d'Oreillo,  whore  Gold  Creek 
•comes  in  from  the  southeast,  is  a  mountain  of  limestone,  which 
is  being  burned  and  shipped  by  the  hundreds  of  barrels  every 
week.     Gold  in  quartz  is  also  found  on  Gold  Creek. 


Kanisku  Lake,  forty  miles  northwest  of  Sand  Point,  is  thirty 
miles  long  b}*  from  three  to  seven  miles  wide,  and  has  its  outlet 
through  Priest  Eiver,  a  crooked  and  swift  stream  which  empties 
into  Clarke's  Fork.  North  of  Kanisku  three  miles,  and  con- 
nected with  it  by  a  stream,  is  Lake  Abercrombie,  six  miles  long, 
north-and-south,  and  two  wide.  These  lakes  have  high,  steep 
hills  surrounding  them  and  coming  close  down  to  the  water, 
except  where  the  numerous  streams  feeding  them  find  en- 
trance. These  streams  have  level  meadow-land  extendinj;  back 
for  several  miles,  and  whei'e  the  meadows  cease  a  fine  cedar 
forest  begins,  some  of  the  older  timber  measuring  fifteen 
feet  in  diameter,  with  a  grain  so  true  that  it  can  be  split  into 
boards  fifty  feet  long.  White  pine,  hemlock,  and  tamarack 
also  are  hero  in  largo  growths,  and  game,  large  and  small,  is 
plentiful. 

In  1888  a  five-foot  galena  vein  was  discovered  at  the  head  of 
Abercrombie  Lake,  running  northeast  and  southwest,  in  syenite 
and  granite,  with  one  foot  of  solid  galena  on  the  foot-wall,  that 
averaged  thirty  ounces  silver  and  seventy  per  cent.  lead.  The 
general  formation  of  the  country  is  a  cross-grained,  hard,  white 
granite. 

Kootenai  or  Flat  Bow  Jjake  and  Eiver  embrace  a  vast  region. 
Together  they  form  an  elongated  ox-bow,  pointing  north,  and 
branching  out  until  the  points  are  six  hundred  miles  apart,  the 
east  point  being  the  source  of  the  Upper  Kootenai  River,  and 
the  west  point  of  the  Lordoaux  River.  The  lake  is  on  the 
west  arm  of  the  bow,  its  south  end  being  connected  with  Sand 
Point  by  a  level  wagon-road.  Its  length  is  over  one  hundred 
miles,  and  its  width  of  an  average  of  three  miles.  It  seems  to 
have  been  formed  like  the  Grand  Coulee  by  some  great  convul- 
sion of  nature,  as  glacial  action  is  nowhere  apparent  on  the  ad- 


2|!; 


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406 


ATLANTIS   AttlSEN. 


jacent  mountains,  although  living  ghvciors  of  groat  size  are  at  the 
north  end  of  the  hike.  The  depth  of  this  Assure  is  unknown, 
— assuming  it  to  he  a  fissure, — but  by  currying  out  the  angles 
of  the  mai'gituvl  mountains,  which  rise  quite  abruptly  from  the 
water  to  a  height  of  four  thousand  feet,  a  depth  of  at  least  throe 
thousand  feet  would  be  obtained.  A  sounding  line  of  one  thou- 
sand feet  does  not  touch  the  bottom  of  its  still,  durlc  waters. 
The  outlet  is  on  the  west  side,  about  forty-five  miles  from  the 
north  end,  vvhicii  is  in  British  Columbia.  The  waters  of  t!io 
outlet  are  deep  and  still  for  twenty-five  miles.     The  mountnns 


• 

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ONK   day's   hunt. 

wear  their  snowy  helmets  the  year  through  at  the  upper  end  of 
the  lake.  Many  streams  fall  into  it,  large  and  small,  entering 
through  deep  gorges,  or  tumbling  over  mossy  rocks  among 
green  depths  of  forest.  There  is  no  more  impressive  scenery  in 
the  Northwest  than  in  the  Kootenai  country.  The  lake  is 
stocked  with  fish,  from  immense  sturgeon  and  char  weighing 
up  into  the  hundreds,  to  thirty-pound  silver  trout,  and  other 


'V! 


11 


GEOLOGY    AND   MINEKALOOY   IN   WASHINGTON.        407 


stnalloi*  pan  fish  ;  and  tho  forest  affords  game  in  the  caribou, 
a  species  of  large  deer. 

Kootenai  Lake  mining  district  lies  on  both  sides  of  the  lal^e 
about  fifteen  miles  north  of  the  outlet.  The  Blue  Boll  Mine,  on 
the  east  side,  is  on  Galena  Bay,  and  owned  by  tho  Kootenai 
Mining  and  Smelting  Company,  which  has  its  office  at  K.6oleuai 
Station,  on  the  Northern  Pacific.  It  is  u  ten-loot  vein  of  low- 
grade  galena  in  lime,  extending  north  and  south,  assaying  eight 
01  uces  in  silver,  with  eighty  per  cent,  of  lead,  and  opened  by  a 
one-hundred-foot  incline.  The  Blue  Bell  was  discovered  and  to 
some  extent  developed  previous  to  1885,  when,  owing  to  a  con- 
test over  rights,  work  was  suspended  until  the  present  company 
acquired  tho  property.  The  Kootenai  Chief,  an  extension  of 
the  Blue  Boll,  is  owned  in  San  Francisco,  but  not  at  present 
worked.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  lake  are  numerous  loca- 
tions, among  which  are  the  Highland,  owned  in  Spokane,  a 
three-foot  vein  of  clear  galena,  assaying  from  forty  to  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty  ounces  silver  and  sixty  per  cent,  lead,  opened 
by  a  sixty-foot  tunnel  at  a  depth  of  one  hundred  and  ten  feet ; 
the  Jim  Blaine,  a  narrow  vein,  owned  in  Butte  City,  Montana, 
which  shipped  to  the  Wicks  Smelter  three  thousand  five  hundred 
pounds  of  gray  carbonate  ore  that  netted  over  two  hundred  and 
eighty- three  ounces  of  silver,  the  vein  being  in  a  basin  on  top 
of  a  mountain,  and  difficult  to  reach  or  work.  Out  of  a  large 
number  of  claims,  a  dozen  or  more  show  a  good  grade  of 
galena.  There  are  hot  springs  among  this  group  of  mines, 
which  continually  deposit  lime. 

The  Bonanza  district  is  situated  six  miles  south  of  the 
Kootenai  Lake  outlet,  on  Cottonwood  Creek,  which  comes  into 
the  outlet  from  the  south  at  a  point  twenty-two  miles  southeast 
and  down  from  the  main  Kootenai  Lake.  The  principal  loca- 
tions are  at  an  altitude  of  five  thousand  four  hundred  feet,  and 
two  thousand  seven  hundred  feet  above  the  lake,  cutting  at 
right  angles  through  a  timbered  ridge  running  northeast  and 
southwest,  which  slopes  uniformly  down  to  the  outlet.  Tho 
district  was  discovered  in  1886  by  parties  from  Colvillo,  and 
located  the  following  year.  There  are  three  parallel  veins, 
about  six  hundred  feet  apart,  ranging  from  thirty  to  eighty  feet 
in  width,  and  running  in  an  east-and-west  direction,  with  a  dip 


408 


ATLANTIS  ARISEN. 


n^l^t 


m 


of  fbrty-five  degrees  to  the  south.  The  casing  of  the  ore  matter 
is  a  lime  sh'  le,  the  whole  extending  across  tiie  eour try  formation 
at  right  angles,  and  lying  between  a  contact  of  granite  and  slate. 

The  veins  carry  ores  known  to  mining  men  as  copper-glance, 
antimonial  silver,  gray-copper,  "  black  metal,"  or  brittle  silver, 
peacock-copper,  and  hard  brown,  gold-bearing  quartz.  It  is 
claimed  that  no  such  conglomerai  ^n  of  ores  was  ever  before 
found  outside  of  Mexico,  where  similar  deposits  exist.  The 
discovery  vaa  made  by  a  party  looking  for  placer  claims  at  the 
head  of  the  Little  Salmon,  which  comes  into  the  Columbia  from 
the  east  a  few  niiles  north  of  the  ^oundary-iine  of  British 
Columbia.  The  whole  summer  was  upent  in  cuttiug  a  one-hun- 
dred-milo  pack-trail  through  the  heavy  timber  of  a  country 
extremely  rough  in  its  configuration.  The  caRon  of  the  Salmon 
Hiver  has  stretches  of  twenty  or  more  miles  where  the  high 
bluflfs  are  perpendicular  and  faced  with  rock.  The  Bonanza 
Eidg3  lies  between  tho  head- waters  of  a  branch  of  the  Salmon 
and  the  Kootenai  Lake  outlet. 

When  the  Colville  party  were,  at  the  end  of  summer,  making 
prospect  holes  ou  this  ridge,  they  stumbled  on  their  bonanza ; 
but  it  being  near  ihe  season  of  snow  in  the  mountains,  they 
were  forced  to  relinquish  the  hope  of  seen  ring  any  returns 
for  their  labors  at  that  time,  and  concealing  their  treasure  re- 
traced their  steps  to  wait  for  anoth/r  summer.  But  the  secret 
wap  not  so  well  kept  but  ihs*i  it  was  guessed,  and,  when  they 
started  in  the  following  ^fay  for  the  land  of  promise,  they  w.re 
watched  and  pursued  so  closely  as  hardly  to  get  to  their  desti- 
nation before  others  were  also  op  ibo  ground.  This  is  a  part  of 
the  romance  and  excitement  of  mining.  Many  a  lonely  pros- 
pector while  looking  for  bis  bonanza  has  laid  his  bones  where 
otaer  equally  evasive  forti  ne-hunters  could  not  find  them.  But 
tho  bonanza  f(»und,  then  comes  the  struggle  i.ir  possession,  and 
the  race  is  co  the  swift.  The  discoverers  of  this  one,  named 
Winslow  Hall  and  William  Oakes,  with  eleven  others,  organized 
the  Kootenai  Bonanza  Mining  Company,  and  made  three  loca- 
tions, the  Kootenai  Bonanza,  Silver  K'ag,  and  American  Flag. 
Tlie  (rrizzl)!.  Silver  Queen,  and  Cariboo  are  extensions  of  the 
above  named. 

Tho  richness  of  the  Kootenai  Bonanza  district  is  extraordi- ' 


'M..' 


GEOLOGY   AND   MINERALOGY   TN   WASHINGTON. 


409 


naiy.  In  doing  the  opening  work  on  tho  first  two  locations 
twelve  hundred  tons  of  ore  were  taken  out,  which  averaged  one 
hundred  and  tifty  dollars  to  the  ton,  three  hundred  tons  aver- 
aging two  hundred  dollars.  Forty-six  sacks  of  ore,  from 
which  forty-eight  assays  were  made,  averaged  five  hundred  and 
twelve  ounces  of  silver,  no  assaj'  being  made  for  copper  or  gold. 
Several  assays  were  made  of  "  brittle  snver,"  which  averaged 
eight  thousand  ounces  of  silver,  and  a  chunk  of  brown  quartz 
showing  wire  and  leaf  gold  gave  ninety -seven  thousand  dollars 
gold  and  three  thousand  dollars  silver  to  tho  ton.  Tho  entire 
vein  carries  thirty  per  cent,  copper. 

While  thd'e  is  this  Arabian  Nights'  glamour  of  incredible 
wealth  about  these  discoveries,  there  is  always  the  possibility 
that  nature  has  exhausted  herself  in  producing  this  specimen 
of  her  handiwork,  and  cannot  repeat  this  profusion  or  long  con- 
tinue it  in  one  place.  The  reputation  of  this  district,  however, 
has  been  well  sustained  and  has  increased  the  value  of  the  low- 
grade  ores  in  the  Kootenai  Lake  district,  both  districts  being 
north  of  the  ooundary,  in  the  British  possessions,  and  low-grade 
ores  being  duil.ible.  But  if  the  value  of  silver  exceeds  that  of 
lead  in  ore,  it  can  bo  shipped  into  the  United  States  free  of  duty. 
By  mixing  the  high  and  low  grades  the  whole  can  be  taken 
across  the  line  free,  and  besides  improve  the  ore  for  smelting. 

The  only  outlet  for  this  district  is  up  the  Kootenai  Lake  and 
River,  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  miles,  to  Bonner's  Ferry,  thence 
south  thirty  miles  by  wagon-road  to  Kootenai  Station  or  Sand 
Point,  on  the  Northern  Pacific,  and  thence  sixty  miles  to  Spo- 
kane Falls.  The  passage  by  wpter  occupies  forty- eight  hours. 
It  costs  seven  dollars  per  ton  to  transport  the  ore  from  Cotton- 
wood Creek  Landing  to  Kootenai  Station.  A  railroad  will  soon 
be  made  to  penetrate  the  Kootenai  country,  and  reveal  to  the 
world  ai  region  well  worth  the  attention  of  the  business-man 
and  the  tourist. 

It  was  the  intention  of  the  Ainsworth  Company,  which  owned 
in  the  Blue  Bell  lead  and  had  a  grant  from  the  colonial  govern- 
ment, to  have  built  a  railroad  out  of  the  Kootenai  country,  but 
tho  policy  of  the  Parliament  proved  so  narrow,  owing  to  the 
jealousy  of  their  constituents  towards  railway  connection  with 
the  United  States,  that  the  company  was  compelled  to  abandon 


410 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


h 


the  scheme.  This  ill  treatment  by  the  colonial  authorities  for 
several  years  retarded  mining  in  this  region.  The  Spokane  and 
Northern  Raiiroad  will  soon  be  completed  to  Little  Dalles, 
■whence  a  line  of  steamboats  will  carry  passengers  and  freight 
to  this  and  other  districts  in  British  Columbia.  It  was  the 
design  of  the  Spokane  and  Northern  to  have  continued  its  road 
to  Kootenai  on  the  northeast,  and  through  the  Colvilie  Indian 
Reservation  to  the  Rock  Creek  mines  of  British  Columbia  on  the 
northwest,  and  finally  to  the  Pacific  coast,  but  the  Dominion 
Parliament  refused  to  grant  charters  for  either  of  these  branch 
linos,  much  desired  by  the  people  north  and  south  of  the 
boundary,  the  Canadian  Pacific  being  opposed.  It  will  not  be 
possible  much  longer  to  prevent  American  enterprise  from  ac- 
complishing its  designs,  even  against  the  will  of  this  govern- 
mental monopoly,  in  British  Columbia. 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 


LAST   WORDS. 

A  TOURIST,  I  suppose,  may  be  pardoned  for  giving  a  rambling 
account  of  the  country  run  over.  I  desire  to  feel  that  my  ram- 
blings  are  of  some  value  to  my  readers.  It  is  difficult  to  con- 
ceive, if  we  have  not  seen  it,  the  rapid  jhange  being  effected  in 
the  Northwest.  But  a  study  of  the  census,  and  the  rapid  growth 
of  American  cities  iu  all  the  States,  will  be  found  quite  as  sur- 
prising. Foreign  immigration  has  filled  up  the  country  very 
rapidly.  I  have  sometimes  felt,  in  a  San  Francisco  street-car, 
or  other  public  conveyance,  that  it  would  bo  a  pleasure  to  hear 
my  mother  tongue  spoken.  In  the  North  the  foreign  element  is 
not  so  marked,  although  there  are  colonies  of  Norwegians, 
Swedes,  and  Germans,  with  the  ever  ubiquitous  Irishman,  and 
a  sprinkling  of  Canadian  English,  Scotch,  and  occasional  individ- 
uals from  all  nations.  But  the  prevailing  and  governing  class 
is  American ;  and  it  is  the  American  whom  you  meet,  alert,  ob- 
servant, ready,  who  controls  the  enterprises  of  this  part  of  the 
Pacific  coast.  Washington  is  peculiarly  Ncw-England-Ameri- 
can,  in  the  Puget  Sound  region  particularly,  because  the  New- 


LAST   WORDS. 


411 


Englander  is  commercial.  In  the  agricultural  portions  of  the 
country  are  more  people  from  the  middle  and  western  divisions 
of  tho  Atlantic  States. 

I  will  now  proceed  to  give,  as  I  did  for  Oregon,  a  tabulated 
statement  of  tho  assessed  valuation  of  diifercnt  sections  by- 
counties,  which  will  help  the  reader  to  understand  the  relative 


Counties, 


Adams  *    .  . 

Assotin  *    .  . 

Chehalis    .  , 

Clallam  .    .  . 

Clarke    .    .  . 

Columbia  *  . 

Cowlitz  .    .  . 

Douglas  *  .  , 

Franklin*  . 

Garfield*  .  . 

Island    .   .  . 

Jefferson    .  . 

Klickitat*  . 

Kittitass*  .  . 
King  .... 

Kit<ap   .    .  . 

Lewis     .    .  . 

Lincoln*  .  . 

Mason    .    .  . 

Okanogan  *  . 

Pacific    .    .  . 

Pierce     .    .  . 

San  Juan  .  , 

Skafjit    .   .  . 

Skamania  .  . 

Snohomish  . 

Spokane  *  .  . 

Stevens  *   .  . 

Thurston   .  . 
Wahkiakum 
Walla  Walla* 
Whatcom 

Whitman*  . 

Yakima  *  .  . 

Total   .   . 


Population,  1890. 


2,085 
1,675 
9,226 

2,757 

11,635 

5,888 

8,161 

693 

3,898 

1,774 

8,304 

5,150 

8,761 

65,031 

4,623 

11,463 

9,318 

2,813 

1,465 

4348 

50,775 

2,097 

8,731 

776 

8,611 

37,402 

4,307 

9,364 

2,526 

12,215 

18,351 

19,072 

4,455 


335,464 


Valuation,  1889. 


$1,022,801 

610,023 
2,333,544 

871,480 
2,226,353 
8,698,340 
1,097,008 
1,160,880 

640,392 
1.562,895 

'543,386 
2,031,915 
1,837,878 
2,649,604 
23,733,495 
1,V48,470 
1,884,884 
3,006,069 

986,257 

502,098 

891,116 
26,352,126 

379,090 
1,833,080 

158,055 

1,610,922 

14,684,363 

684,819 
2,637,866 

616,572 
7,833,966 
3,682,985 
7,870,218 
2,820,261 


$126,165,215 


development  of  these  diEtricts,  although  the  valuation  is  for 
1889  and  the  population  for  1890,  when  there  must  have  been  a 
large  increase  in  valuation  over  1889. 


>«(, 


tan 

ill 


ill 


M 


1 '. 


412 


ATLANTIS   ARISEN. 


I  have  marked  the  East  Washington  counties  with  an  astevisk 
to  point  out  the  comparative  wealth  of  the  two  groat  divisions. 
The  difference  in  favor  of  the  nineteen  western  counties  is  over 
fifty  millions  as  against  the  fifteen  eastern  counties.  The  sev- 
eral large  towns  on  Puget  Sound  should  account  for  a  greater 
difference  than  that,  and  the  comparison  shows  that  relatively 
the  agricultural  sections  are  as  prosperous  as,  if  not  more  so  than, 
the  commercial  ones.  Dividing  the  whole  assessed  value  of  the 
State  (far  below  its  actual  value),  it  gives  three  hundred  and 
seventy-three  dollars  to  every  individual  in  it,  which  is  above 
the  oviiinary  proportion  of  the  older  States. 

A  feature  of  Puget  Sound  commerce  is  that  among  the  groat 
number  of  vessels  which  enter  annuallv, — the  entrances  amount- 
ing  in  1889  to  one  million  five  hundred  and  forty  thousand  and 
fifteen  tons, — the  clearances  exceed  the  entrances  by  fourteen 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  sixty-four  tons,  showing  the  balance 
of  trade  to  be  in  favor  of  this  new  State  as  against  the  whole 
world. 

The  motto  adopted  for  the  territorial  seal — Alki — by  and  by 
— was  well  chosen,  significant,  and  prophetic.  The  younger 
brother  of  Oregon,  he  will  not  be  content  with  the  younger 
brother's  portion,  but  will  strive  for  the  sceptre. 

Modern  writers  bring  weighty  evidence  to  prove  that  the 
tradition  handed  down  to  us  by  the  ancient  philosophers,  of  a 
submerged  continent,  occupying  a  portion  of  the  area  covered 
by  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  was  scientific  truth.  If  one  continent 
sank,  another  must  have  arisen  to  balance  it.  If  America  is  the 
Atlantis  of  Plato,  or  its  substitute,  as  some  believe,  its  west 
coast  is  the  oldest,  or  that  portion  which  was  first  elevated,  as 
geology  proves.  It  is  also,  as  we  know,  the  latest  to  be  brought 
under  development.  It  is  ihe  pioneer's  last  view  out  over  the 
oceans  that  encircle  the  known  world.  Henceforward  man's 
effort  will  be  to  restore  to  earth  on  this  favored  soil  the  glories 
of  the  buried  continent,  and  to  substitute  for  Atlantis  lost, 
Atlantis  Arisen. 


THE  END. 


Lerisk 
sions. 
3  over 
e  sev- 
reater 
ktively 
)  than, 
of  the 
id  and 
above 

e  great 
mount- 
nd  and 
3urteen 
balance 
a  whole 

and  by 
younger 
jTOunger 

;hat  the 
era,  of  a 

covered 
ontinent 
ica  is  the 
its  west 
vated,  as 
I  brought 

over  the 
rd  man's 
le  glories 
intis  lost, 


